


Star Trek: New Horizons

by musingsongbird



Series: Star Trek: New Horizons [1]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Multi, Original Story - Freeform, Other, Romance, Science Fiction, Slash, Slow Burn, Smut, Space Exploration, Space War, philisophical fiction, purposeful plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-01-17 01:39:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 29
Words: 86,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12354768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musingsongbird/pseuds/musingsongbird
Summary: The closest galaxy to our solar system- the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy- is slowly being consumed by the Milky Way. The Enterprise embarks on a rescue mission to save the last inhabitants of this galaxy before it’s destruction, however a massive warbird from this galaxy appears and wages a galactic war against the corrupt past of the Federation.In the meantime, the crew of the Enterprise rescue Spock’s childhood friend from a Canis slave-trade camp, and she and the Doctor McCoy build up a bond far greater than either of them could have imagined possible.





	1. A Star is Dying

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the first part of New Horizons! I am so excited to be finally getting this story out into the world. This story is going to be insightful, action-packed, dramatic, romantic and uplifting, and I hope everyone can find something in this story to connect with and enjoy. 
> 
> I originally first published this story as a reader-insert series on June 19th, 2017, for the one year remembrance of Anton Yelchin’s passing. Yelchin and Chekov both will always be remembered, and their legacy will always be a part of our hearts. I am also not going to touch on the subject of Chekov’s replacement. I do mention his death (because I believe the series will honor his death like they did with Leonard Nimoy in Beyond) but I do not believe it is my place to touch on a whole new character to fill in the void of Chekov. That will be covered in the next Star Trek movie.
> 
> I will also be posting trigger warning at the beginning of each chapter for readers to see. Each chapter is different with it's content and I do not want someone to be detoured by the whole story for just one part of the picture, but I will inform everyone what content will appear in each chapter.  
> Rating: M overall, T for this part  
> Warnings: mentions of Chekov’s death, mentions of character being held prisoner if you squint

**Prologue**  
      Planet Celesious- known as the "pearl of the galaxy"- slowly rotates on its axis. It's pale hues of pinks and blues shone and glimmered brightly in the light from its star. It blends into the heavens around it, seeming as brilliant- if not more so- than any other diamond in the sky.  
Without any warning or notice, a piece of debris- an asteroid not normally found in this part of the Canis system- crashes into the beautiful surface, breaking it apart and scattering it into space. The remaining parts of the planet lit up, being set on fire from the impact of the meteorite and exploding from its core. Slowly, horrifically, detrimentally, more debris makes its way in to collide into the pearl, and effectively shatters it.

      Many peoples of a neighboring world watch from their skies in horror as this planet falls apart before their very eyes, holding onto each other tightly in despair and fear for their own world.

      In the far of reaches of a neighboring system, an old man sits at a telescope, his heart shattering to pieces just as the planet he watches fall apart. He breaks away from the horror, instead looking into the face of God as tears shed from tired eyes who had seen too much.  
      "I'm so sorry," he chokes in shame out for no one to hear.

 

 

 **Chapter 1**  
_Captains Log, Stardate 59438.9_  
_The starship Enterprise is currently traveling around the far reaches of the galaxy, mapping and charting new celestial bodies and observable constellations from distant galaxies and our own. It's been a very educational and invigorating time for many of my crew, and a great chance to breathe for many others who desperately were in need of some R & R. We have all needed it after the worst of times here in space- the incident of Yorktown, many wars across the galaxy, the loss of Chekov. Space only seems so cold when the heart is frozen in pain. Many men blindly look to the stars for their brilliance and guidance without knowing the dangers and loss that their radiance hides. And many of those who have seen the shadows in the light forget the wholeness and beauty underneath it all. I look to my men and see all of this reflected in each of them, and it serves as my only reminder of how anything beyond our wildest imaginations can happen in this universe._

      Jim trails off in his recording there, leaning back in his office chair to look out at the stars in his window. The one nice thing about not having to rush around the galaxy was he actually got a chance to look at the stars without them blurring into the distance from warp. He humors the sentiment with a small smile before he turns back to the many reports from his crew waiting for him on his PADD. Reports, requests, submissions, messages that he as the Captain had to go through one by one, but it brought him a sense of joy to be privy to the brilliance and going-ons of his crew.  
      He gives a little chuckle when one in particular- from Bones of course- crossed his view, requesting/harassing the Captain to come down for a physical since Jim had no missions to use an excuse to escape it. He brushes it aside, promising in his mind to entertain it later by sending an interesting note back to Bones. Scotty of course had new, farfetched requests for his engines and for a few new recreational items to have down in Engineering. If Kirk truly approved all of Scotty's requests the man could truly live down there. Sulu had requested more terrariums for the botany labs to house samples collected on new worlds. The terrarium he could do but where they would find more shelf space to place them with an already packed lab, he has no idea how to help them with. Cupcake put in a request for more supplies for training and Chapel had a request for more medical supplies to be purchased on their next stop at a station, both of which he instantly approved.  
      The chime to his office door rings and he calls out, "Enter," without even looking up from his PADD to see who was entering. He had a strict open- door policy for his office and there was only one crew member who insisted upon following the regulation and courtesy of signaling before entering.  
      "Captain," Spock politely announces his entrance, his tone also reflecting a desire to gain the man's attention. Jim looks up at him, removing the thick glasses resting on the bridge of his nose to gain a clearer look at the disturbed look on the Vulcan's face.  
      "What's wrong, Spock?" Jim asks. Spock ignores the entendre in the human phrasing of the query and starts on his report.  
      "Captain, the team that is assigned to observe the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy have found a few irregularities and abnormalities in the galaxy. The galaxy is slowly being pulled apart by the gravitational field of the Milky Way galaxy. Many stars and planets are either being pulled in a trail of gas around our galaxy called the Monoceros Ring, or has been accreted into the Milky Way's system." As Spock explains and pulls up the charts and images on his PADD, Jim stands and comes around to Spock's side to lean in and take a look for himself at the data.  
     "Well that's natural Spock; you know galaxies consume other galaxies all the time," Jim humors him with a chuckle and raise of his brows when he looks at his XO.  
"Indeed," Spock agrees, looking back at him with a pointed brow that practically screamed 'I know that you foolish human now let me finish'. "However, the manner in which the Milky Way is consuming the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy is what concerns me. Naturally, more massive objects fall to the center of systems and galaxies- called differentiation. However, even the many asteroids, comets and stars on the outer teaches of our galaxy are of higher mass than anything in the Canis system. Because of this, as our own galaxy naturally accretes this smaller galaxy, many of their planet's and stars are in danger of either being demolished by the pathways of asteroids and comets or pulled into the gravity of our massive planets and stars and being consumed. One of their planets- known as 'Celesious' in our database from the Vulcan Science Academy- has already been destroyed by a few of the comets floating on the outer reaches of our galaxy. The latest scans of the planet taken by the Vulcan Science Academy approximated 200 million lives on that planet before it's destruction."  
      Both Jim and Spock somber up at his explanation. Spock passes Jim his PADD when he reaches for it, gazing down with intensity at the data in front of him; his mind rapidly analyzing, weighing the options and the lives of each individual in that galaxy.  
      "So all of these other planets are in danger of being destroyed by our galaxy? How are we the first to come across this? This must have been happening for hundreds of years at least... But your data comes from New Vulcan? Nothing in the Starfleet databases about this?" Jim contemplates in disbelief, looking to Spock in hopes of more answers than just this.  
      "I have found no records of recent outreach nor interaction with the worlds of this galaxy in Starfleet’s records, Captain," Spock's says a little dejectedly. "The only records in the system are old images from the VSA and even older infrared scans from NASA. Also, before arriving to your office, the scientists observing the galaxy sent me a status update. Another planet- recorded as 'Demarxus' in the Vulcan databases, is in danger of being pulled into one of our stars upon crossing galaxy lines. Our scanners can approximate about 1.2 billion lifeforms on that planet," Spock explains, watching the many vivid emotions flicker across his Captain’s eyes as he instantly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.  
      What if he contacted them now to ask permission to do this and they told him "no"? That he had to turn around and ignore it and just leave it be. That was unthinkable to him; almost as much as Starfleet giving the orders to wait until reinforcements arrive. That would just waste time on the amount of lives they could save by acting now instead of losing more by waiting with their thumbs up their asses. Diplomacy and regulations be damned, he knew they needed to act now- in good conscious of discovering the coming destruction of the planet and in moral sense of having a duty to help your fellow beings- to get anything done.  
      But at the same time there was a danger going into the unknown chaos- the danger of going into a destructive part of space and dealing with lifeforms that could be dangerous themselves. He could not, would never, risk his crew.  
      It was an utilitarianistic call. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few".  
      But there was only one way to find out, which was a personal philosophy Kirk had mastered over the years: to charge into the unknown and find out for yourself. And to take action based on the facts.  
      When Spock starts to reach out to his friend in concern, Jim has made up his mind and is already off and waking down the hallway towards the lift.  
      "How far are we from the edge of their galaxy?"  
      "We are currently 12346.65 light years away, Captain. It would take us approximately 5 days, 6 hours and 11.3 minutes to arrive to the boarder at warp factor 8.4."  
      "Excellent. Let's head to bridge and let the crew know what is going on. Have Uhura call down to Scotty to let him know that we are heading on route to the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy and I need you to start on running any analysis we can on the galaxy from your station. I will make a ship- wide announcement to update the crew. And we will contact Starfleet once we are in reach of the galaxy and have collected more data and ascertained the severity of the condition of the galaxy. It is better to ask for forgiveness than for permission in this case." Jim and Spock make it to the turbolift, and   Jim reaches to signal it before dropping his serious mood to turn and grin at Spock.  
      "First to make it across galaxy lines and to encounter a whole new set of lifeforms. Isn't this exciting, Mr. Spock?" Jim says, clapping him on the arms before entering the turbolift once it's doors open.  
      "Indeed, Captain," Spock joins in with his own tone of enthrallment as he follows Jim into the lift.  
      Once the doors open to the Bridge, the boys are instantly back into officer- mode. Jim starts on his orders as he heads into his chair, while Spock heads over to Uhura's console to open a channel to Engineering. "Mr. Sulu, set a course for the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, warp 8.4," Jim commands as he sits.  
      "I'm sorry sir? We're heading to another galaxy?" Sulu asks in bewilderment as he turns from the console.  
      "Are these orders from Starfleet?" the navigator asks, even the translator they used sounding skeptical.  
      "No, not yet. But they will be. Mr. Spock has informed me that our astrophysics department has found the galaxy is in process of being torn apart and consumed by our own, which has already destroyed millions of lives and will take billions more. Since we are in reaches of the galaxy and have the finest technology and crew in the Fleet, we are going to ascertain the condition of the galaxy and come up with a plan to rescue the lives of that galaxy.”  
      "That's going to take a lot more than just the Enterprise, Captain," Sulu cuts in. Jim nods.  
      "Yes indeed Mr. Sulu. But we can at least set a plan in motion until a better plan can be devised at a later date," Jim acknowledges the pilots concerns. He’s thought a lot about that too- but he knows that they cannot just ignore this and pretend it is not happening. They have to be the ones to start  
      "Forgive me, Captain, but we don't know anything about the worlds of this galaxy. What if they are dangerous or uncivilized? And if the galaxy is already being torn apart won't this put our ship into danger too?" a lieutenant asks from his station. Jim could see the obvious fear in their eye- fear for the lives of the crew going into the unknown like this- but he could not fight the feeling in his gut about this.  
      "Regardless, it is our duties as officers and living beings to do all that is in our power to help those who need it. We have the ability and resources to do so, and we are the only ones who know that this is going on right now, so we have no choice. You know I will never put your lives at risk and I will protect you all from any danger, so we all need to work together to offer the same for them.”  
      Everyone seems to take this in and Sulu is the first to speak up. "We have the best warp capability in the Fleet. Especially with Scotty at the engines. It will be hard to navigate the changes in gravitational pulls to get into and out of the galaxy and we won't know how hard until we are actually there, but we can do it," Sulu confirms.  
      "Demarxus is the closest planet to the boarder of the Milky Way Galaxy, and is currently inhabited by approximately 1.2 billion people. The pull of our galaxy on the planet will put it right in the path of an embedded star cluster in the Outer Arm. The density and temperature of the gas alone will send the planet into flames before the cluster consumes the planet entirely. As of right now the astrophysics department puts the deadline for this to occur at 56 terran days."  
      As if on cue, the comm line alerts of a call from Engineering that Jim answers. "Scotty, how quickly can we get to the outer reaches of the galaxy from here in warp?"  
      "Captain, at perfect warp 8.4 it would take us about 5 days and some to make it to the boundary between the galaxies. But the hard part captain is going to be able to maintain that velocity with the fluctuating gravity fields of both galaxies. It's gonna push the engines and kick around the ship a lot," he groans.  
      "Well Mr. Scott that's why we have your expertise to keep those engines humming beautifully through it. Any resources or aid you need will be yours, just say the word. Our engines are number one priority for this mission."  
      "It's about time, man!" Jim just rolls his eyes in amusement before disconnecting the line and turning back to Spock at his station. He makes eye contact, seeking his own dose of reassurance that he is doing the right thing- which Spock provides him in a single nod- before turning to Uhura and asking for a ship- wide comm.  
      "Channel is open, Captain," she cues him.  
      "Attention Enterprise crew, this is your Captain speaking. We have a new mission in our midst. This is not an official mission given to us by Starfleet, but one that we must embark on, none the less, to save the lives of millions in danger. We are en route now to the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy- territory unexplored and with life forms unknown by our own kind. We will be both pioneers and first responders, and I need each and every one of my crew to be their brilliant selves and contribute in whatever way they are best capable of for this mission to be successful. They are counting on you, I am counting on you, and I have the utmost faith we can pull this off. Because that is what we do best- head into the unknown with our heads held high and not back down to our fears. Because of this, we will prevail and help others to thrive and survive as well. We arrive to the galactic border in 5 days. If anyone has any questions, direct them to me in this time. Kirk out.”  
      After cutting transmission, Jim takes a look at the shining, determined, strong faces of his bridge crew as they immediately absorb themselves into their work. A smile grew on his face. With this alone, he knew they could accomplish anything.

 

      Somewhere in the range of 12,346 light years away from the Enterprise, many horrid screams and broken cries could be heard echoing off damp stone walls. A young girl clings onto metal bars as she looks up into the perfect black night and watches a small light explode in the sky. Without knowing what exactly had occurred, she knew it was destructive. Her heart in her side breaks for the loss, even as she secretly envies those lives for their freedom from suffering…


	2. Give it a Try

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, the Enterprise arrives to the Canis Galaxy, the situation with the Canis Galaxy much more chaotic and dangerous than the Enterprise crew realized. Also, Leonard has a moment to spend with his daughter. 
> 
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: depiction of violence, attacks, psychological manipulation, Enterprise crew held on brink of death

      It was dark in Leonard McCoy's office. The only light he kept on for this quiet night in Medbay was the desk lamp beside him, so his face would be illuminated just enough for his daughter to see him as they talked on his PADD. 

      "And then Mrs. Rodgers asked me if I wanted to participate in the state spelling bee! I have to get mama to sign off on it, but the competition would be in Atlanta at the Georgia Terrace Hotel," Joanna tells her father with excitement. 

      "That's great, sweetheart. Congratulations to you. When you head to Atlanta, you have to go to Piedmont Park. It's one of my favorite spots," Leonard shares with her, and she gives an excited nod with a promise to go check it out. Leonard stops talking for a moment just so he could get a good look at the face of his daughter- the face of a maturing, beautiful girl. "I'm so proud of you Jo. You're doing so many great things and accomplishing so much for yourself. You're turning into an incredible young lady." And Leonard could not stop the crack in his voice at the end there even if he wanted to. 

      Jo just bashfully looks away, as any girl still finding herself would. "Thank you, papa. That means a lot. I miss you- -" Jo is cut off by the voice of her mother in the background. "Ok mama," she calls back. "Mama says I have to go to bed now. Will I get to talk to you tomorrow night again?" Jo asks hopefully. 

      Since the crew had been on this break while mapping stars and traveling to the new galaxy, Leonard had the time to call Jo every single night. But now... "I'm afraid not, JoJo," Leonard says as he chokes back on some tears. "We arrive at the new galaxy in the morning, and I'm not sure what's going to be happening once we get there. But the moment I know what is going on, and whenever I have a free moment, I will use it to call you first thing," Leonard swears.

      "You'll be safe, right papa?" Jo asks nervously.

      "I always am darlin'." Jo fidgets with her hair and bites her lip, seeming to toss and turn that promise in her head to decide what to say next.

      "You're gonna save a lot of lives papa," she chooses to say, and it shows Leonard even more how grown up she is becoming. "I'm proud of you too," she says resolutely with a smile. The doctor gives a small smile at that, touched and proud of his daughter for using his own words against him.

      "I will call you as soon as I can Jo, I promise."

      "I know you will papa. I love you," she says.

      "Love you too sweetheart. Always," he tells her, and then the line goes dead. And he whispers it one more time into the darkness.

      Rubbing at his bleary, tired eyes, McCoy swivels his seat to reach into the cabinet behind his desk and grabs two glasses and the oldest bottle from his stash. The liquid loudly sloshed as he brought it back around, only a fair amount left in it from nights like these. As if on autopilot or out of habit, he pours himself enough to settle in the bottom of his glass and sets the bottle within easy reach at his side. He just stares into the drink in his hand for a long moment- not moving a single muscle- until he finally brings it to his lips and throws it completely back. He was not in a savoring kind of mood tonight.

      "How's Jo doing?" Jim's knowing voice calls out, and Leonard looks up to see him leaning against the doorway. With a sigh he opens up the bottle again and pours two drinks, sliding the second across his desk to the boy who sits himself on the other side and patiently waits for Leonard to speak.

      "Amazing. Smart, sharp..." He pauses as he feels himself begin to choke. "She's getting so big, Jim. Sometimes when she answers the com I feel like I'm talkin' to a stranger instead of my own daughter." 

      Jim honestly had no idea what to say to his friend at times like this. Since he had no children of his own he couldn't begin to understand. But he knew how Bones worked, and knew how to be there whenever his friend needed his support. And sometimes, it was just to be there to not be melancholy alone.

      "Well then, here's to Jo," Jim raises his glass, to which Leonard cheers it, and they simultaneously throw back their drinks. They both give a loud sigh or groan of satisfaction as it hits them, and as Leonard moves to pour another round Jim stares down at his own drink in deep contemplation.

      "Have you ever really thought about it Bones? Having a family again? Getting married someday?"

      Leonard snorts. "With how busy you keep us on missions, kid, who has the time?" Even Jim has to chuckle in agreement at this. From his own experience, he knew space was never a good place to start a family. 

      "Well, what about when we get back to Earth?" he asks instead.

      "Depends on if we ever get back to Earth, with all these crazed missions we go on all the time. You just love to flirt with death, don't you kid?" Leonard panders his friend. 

      "I just send us on the most innovative and important missions, Bones," Jim shrugs it off with a smirk. "But you're avoiding my question. If everything turned out perfect and falls into place when we go back to Earth, what would you do then Bones?"

      Leonard then seems to get off his rouse and takes on a more serious tone. "Well then...depends on if there is anything left for me back on Earth," Leonard says. He pauses for a beat to consider. "I honestly don't think there is." He raises his glass in a mock- cheer and tosses it back once more.

* * *

 

_Captains Log, Stardate 59422.5_

_After 5 days traveling across the galaxy at rapid warp, we are finally in approach to the boundary line between our galaxy and the galaxy of Canis Major. Soon, we will be crossing into completely uncharted territory, unfamiliar space and unexplored depths to the Federation. It is simultaneously exciting and nerve- wracking, reaching a whole new level of the unknown. But as I look around my bridge, my ship... I know there is no better crew to handle this mission than those in front of me right now._

      "Alright, count us down from Warp 8.4, Mr. Sulu," the Captain orders as he moves into his chair, steeling himself to be ready to respond to anything. Everyone else was also seated at their stations, concentrating at the screens and preparing to act on what would be waiting for them out there.

      "Aye aye, Captain. Dropping from warp in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..." 

      Once the screen drops from the familiar scene of blurred stars shooting by, dozens of large asteroids fill the screen- and many hurdle right towards the Enterprise.

      "Evasive maneuvers!" Jim instantly calls for and slams his hand down on the warning alarm on his chair. The siren blares through the entire ship; the crew instantly reacts, being perfectly conditioned through the years to instantly grab onto something near them once they hear that alarm.

      "Everyone hang on to your seat!" Sulu shouts, throttling the controls to barely move the Enterprise under one of the massive asteroids. The interference from the gravitational pulls of both galaxies was already an issue for the ship, causing it to stutter and jerk like a rickety old car- which did not help when it came to trying to hastily move the ship out of harms way. The crew of the Enterprise is thrown one way, then another as Sulu maneuvers the ship around and through the smallest openings between the asteroids and pushes them through the interference. The sight of the asteroids nearly nicking against the Enterprise was frightening, completely taking away everyone's wonder about being in a whole new galaxy and replace it with the wonder if this is how they would die. Sulu, working and pushing as hard as the ship itself, finally maneuvered underneath the last massive asteroid, leading them into a cleared, open area of space.

      Everyone continued to hold tight to their seats as the ships continued to unpredictably jerk around, unable to find a steady stream of space. The massive pull of the Milky way kept shaking and rattling the Enterprise as it tried to climb its way into a part of the Canis system that was not being pulled by the Milky Way's force."  The ship begins to level out and everyone takes a collective breath of relief.

      "Great job, Mr. Sulu," the captain praises the pilot once he has his equilibrium back, and Sulu just gives him a thumbs up without turning in his seat. "Mr. Spock, make a note in our forming charts of the system about those asteroids, will you? They seemed to be a part of a cluster or possible ring in this part of the system," Jim makes an educated guess, to which Spock nods in agreement and turns back to his console to properly record it.

      Jim settles back into his chair, taking a moment to gain his senses back and look out at the view before him. Brightly colored lights and streams of gas danced across the screen, many smaller asteroids comfortably floating by, as if the Enterprise was not even there to bug them. Colors and hues very similar, yet vastly different filled the horizon of the space the ship moved through. Kirk allows his own sense of amazement and bewilderment to fill his chest and takes a deep breath before pressing the button on his chair that allowed him to broadcast to the entire ship. 

      "Attention Enterprise Crew, this is your Captain speaking. As soon as possible, I would like everyone to take a look out any of the windows closest to you. We are now in another galaxy: the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy. Many of these stars are unknown to man; none of this space explored or touched by the Federation. We will come across a whole new dimension of solar systems, planets, life. This is the beginning of finally seeing into the unimaginable, realizing our wildest dreams. We will be the ones to usher in a new Era of space exploration and connection.

      We will be approaching the Demarxus planet, as Vulcan calls it, in 36 minutes. Once we are in reach of the planet we will contact Starfleet to plan our next move. That will be the hardest part of this mission, seeing as they do not know we are even here right now. Kirk out!" he suddenly cuts it off. Everyone on the bridge gives the Captain a knowing side glance and snicker before they turn back to their stations.

      Spock approaches from behind to place himself beside the captain's chair. "What will your plan of action be once we reach the planet?"

      "Well, once we are there it's not like Starfleet can ethically tell us no, right? All we really can do is take the situation in our hands once we arrive and do what we can until backup arrives. Starfleet can take care of all of the bureaucratic details. They're good at that stuff," Jim just smiles and shrugs.

      Spock's brow does the quirk- miniscule enough to only be noticed by the trained eye- before he speaks. "And I see no reason to remind you of how many Starfleet regulations you are currently breaking." Jim gives a shake of his head. "As flippant as that plan may seem, you have come up with best option we can have, given the situation." _Reassurance. Confidence. Pride._  Spock's words and presence alone always gave Kirk a sense of ease in what he was doing.

      "Did you just call me logical, Spock?" Jim asks with a cheeky grin.

      "You cannot quote me on such as statement since I did not, in fact, use the word 'logical'."

      Without any sign or warning the ship violently lurches, throwing everyone around and the alarm begins to blare in everyone's ears again. Spock is the first to recover from the hit and dash back to his station. "Captain, we have been hit by an unknown and unidentifiable weapon. Location of enemy ship is also unknown," he says, his eyes rapidly scanning the screen as it runs diagnostics on the surrounding area.

      "Raise the shields! Battle stations everyone! Mr. Spock, find where the shot came from." Another blast rocks the ship and tips it to its side before Sulu can level it back out.

      "Captain, they're intentionally aiming for our power and control exhausts," Mr. Scott ascertains as he shouts over the intercom from the engine room. 

      "I can indeed confirm that. Power has been cut off in control rooms A, C and D. Shield is down 60% already captain, and is steadily decreasing each second. It seems like whatever has hit us is steadily draining our power," Sulu hypothesizes as he analyzes the data on the screen in front of him.

      When another shot hits the ship this time, the bridge goes dark and the alarm turns off- ship resources too exhausted to waste the energy on it. Jim could barely make out the scattered faces of his crew through the ominous red emergency lighting.

      "Captain, we are at 24% power; enough remaining to keep the last of our shields and life support running for the entire ship," Mr. Sulu announces and turns in his chair to give Jim a nervous look.

      Jim's heart pounding in his ears was loud enough to effectively replace any emergency siren. "Spock, any sign of where this enemy ship could be?" Even he was ashamed of the emotion woven in his voice.

      "Negative, Captain," Spock replies grimly.

      Uhura then shouts above all the noise, "Captain! The enemy ship is hailing us!", and everyone goes silent. Uhura leans into her earpiece and slowly moves her lips to follow the thick accent on the other end. "They are avengers from the Canis galaxy, and wish to discuss...the terms of your surrender..." she trails off solemnly. Everyone just sits there tensely and stares until Jim can recover himself enough to speak.

      "How do you know this?" Jim asks in confusion.

      "They are speaking in standard..." she nearly whispers in her own disbelief. A surge of unease rocks Kirk's stomach as he clutches tight onto his arm rests to control the feeling. He rises from his seat to stand in front of the monitor. 

      "Open a channel with them. Let's meet our first lifeforms from the Canis Galaxy," Jim orders. 

      Uhura is able to establish a connection to the other ship, which is instantly answered. The screen stays dark, but a flat voice taunts, "You are a far, far way from home. Identify yourself." Jim flinches in outrage at his demand, but holds himself back as he makes his wholesome introduction.

      "I am Captain James Tiberius Kirk. This is the Starship Enterprise of planet Earth, serving under the United Federation of Planets in the Milky Way Galaxy." 

      "We know where you are from, human," the alien's voice spits. "We do not recall inviting you into our Galaxy," the voice muses, malice openly dripping from each word he spoke.

      "We do not mean to intrude nor are we here to bring harm to your galaxy. We are here because our scanners picked up on the destruction of one of your planets in this quadrant, and that another one is in immediate danger as it collides with our own galaxy. We wish to offer our assistance. Starfleet is a massive entity that can offer many ship's and resources to aid you at this time," Jim explains in hopes of soothing their worries.

      "We know what Starfleet is capable off, human." The voice pushes out a sharp hiss on the Federation name, giving Jim pause.

      "Is that how you know how to speak Standard? Have you come across the Federation before?" Jim asks, and the everyone remains silent until Jim breaks it, with his own order this time. "We need to see your ship, and your face. We need to know with whom we are negotiating with right now," Jim demands. 

      A few seconds pass in deathly silence until Uhura shouts, "Captain, enemy ship is uncloaking!" They all watch as a massive ship faded into view, many weapons and sharp-edged spears nearly replacing the body of the ship itself. Arms extended out of its side, twisted and rigid- just like the twisted welcome the crew gave to anyone who came across them. The ship seemed like a world of its own- shaped like it could contain a city or castle- or most likely a small army. It loomed over the Enterprise, giving Kirk a sense of deja vu of when he came up against other antagonists declaring war on the Federation.

      A face then clicks onto the screen. Cold eyes hunted for and locked onto Kirk, already stabbing through him in loathing. Dark blue skin seamlessly morphed into blue tentacles that cascaded down his shoulders and back. His body- as Kirk could see from his sitting position on his own chair- was covered in black spandex, toning the shape of his spindly form. 

      "This is not a negotiation, of any sort," he clarifies.

      "Then tell me whom I am pleading with to spare the lives of my crew," Jim demands.

      "I am Hassarah. Captain of the Canis battleship Adhara."

      "But who are you to demand my surrender? I will not surrender- to whatever misguided idea you have about my crew and the Federation. We are honestly only here to offer the opportunity to save the lives of as many of your people as possible," Jim sincerely explains, nearly pleading with this being to listen to him. It only seems to set him off even more as his large black iris' dilated.

      "'Save my people?'" he mocks Kirk, pushing himself up with his multiple sets of arms as his tone and volume rises in fury. "Your kind has done enough to destroy my people! And you do not even know, do you?" he asks, giving a pause for Kirk to offer an explanation- to which he had none. "Your own Federation is hiding its secrets from you, lying to you, and you just lay down and accept it so blindly. Humans do not think for themselves; they follow whatever orders or beliefs are fed to them by their higher powers, and do not see reality on their own. Their senses of morality are warped by the greedy and cruel, and truly believe their volatile and toxic acts of kindness are acceptable."

      "You need to give us more context than just these empty accusations if you are going to tie us to anything this serious," Jim snaps back, intentionally poking him for more information. The other captain nearly gives in to his taunt until another one of the crew comes up from the back of the bridge to yell at his captain.

      "Forget all of this stupid back and forth talk! It's pointless. Let's kill them now; take our revenge!" the goblin-looking creature yells, his tone and movements gleefully feral.

      "No," the captain barks out, raising his hand to cut the other off. "Let them go. Send them go back to their own Federation, and let them tell the story of coming back into contact with our kind. How we could have stooped to their level and destroyed them, how they were at our mercy. Let these humans see for themselves the lies their precious Federation will tell to save their own skin, and leave their crews in the dark, completely vulnerable." He gets up from his chair and walks closer to the monitor, and Kirk stepped closer to his own monitor to match the alien. His pupils were dilating in excitement as he spoke to Kirk.

      "Take this message back to your Federation: We do not want your kind here. You only make things worse. You are not welcome in our galaxy." The captain then venomously spits something in a different language back to his crew, and the screen goes dark.

      The Enterprise bridge crew watches on their view screen as the ship started to charge up a bright, yet dark collection of energy.

      "Get us out of here, Mr. Sulu!" Kirk started to yell, but it was already too late. The energy burst out in a beam, ripping through the ship and the space behind it, and propelling the Enterprise through. Everyone and thing on the ship flew backwards, free falling for an inordinate amount of time, then landing on their backs and on the floor as the ship finally came to a stop. Kirk instantly jumps to his feet, rushing around to check on his crew and to look back at the monitor. Stars were back in their rightful place, shining as if nothing happened.

      "Mx. D'Pal, can you tell where we are?" Kirk asks the navigator, alarm starting to grow in his mind.

      "Sir," the navigator starts, obviously in a state of shock as they read over the screen, "it appears we are back in the Milky Way Galaxy..."


	3. As Many Worries as Stars in the Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Canis Galaxy has now declared war against the Federation, with many unknown reasons and secrets behind it. Kirk and his team scramble to figure out the reason why as they scramble to save their own lives. 
> 
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: none for this chapter

      "What the hell was that?" Jim growls, nerves flaring up in rage and worry. "How the hell were they able to deplete our power reserves? Send us backwards through space?" Jim stops in his pacing across the conference room to prop himself up on the table to look at the other officers.

      "It seems they have developed a technology superior to anything we have seen before," Spock evaluates from memory. Majority of the senior crew- minus those dealing with critical issues like Bones- was gathered in a conference room to have an informal meeting. "The science department is now analyzing the gelatin substance they shot through the control rooms used to deplete our energy."

      "And it seems whatever that weapon that pushed us back to the Milky Way uses its technology to bend space the same way the warp drive does, and pushes us back through a hole the laser punctures in the fold," Scotty theorizes, pantomiming the bending of space and the laser. 

      "Then we are dealing with races with technology far superior to our own. It would be dangerous to try to go back; they do not seem to want us there," Uhura says her worries aloud.

      "True. We need to focus on our ship now- healing any crew members that were injured in the attack and start repairing the damages. Luckily most of the crew were able to get each other out of control room C and A when the gelatin hit and sealed the doors, and the other control rooms followed suit." Jim felt that was the only part he could breathe on, even though a ball of fury built up in the pit of his stomach at the loss of his crew- at the senseless, pointless loss of the lives of his crew. He would get answers, and retribution for them.

      "The damages are extensive Captain. We need to find a safe place to land the ship, as soon as possible. The ship only has enough energy on reserve to keep the support systems going, no power for any higher functions. We have no power left over for our shields and will be out of fuel for travel here any moment. We'll be stranded, sitting ducks and will have no ways to defend ourselves against another attack," Scotty warns.

      Jim takes a deep breath in and let's it go to steel his resolve. "Alright. Sulu, head up to the Bridge and coordinate with the navigators to find us a suitable planet to land on- someplace with a nonvolatile environment and with no signs of life. We can't risk being spotted or attacked right now by more hostile natives. Scotty, get the engineers started on any repairs we can make now and any extra man power you need will be directed to you. Our main focus is getting the ship and shield back online as quickly as possible. Uhura, send a message to Starfleet command. It's time we get them into the loop on what has been going on." 

      Each member of the Bridge crew dissipates as their orders are given, until it is just Spock and Jim left in the room. Jim gives a huge sigh of agitation, bracing himself over the conference table and closing his eyes to try to filter through the buzzing in his mind. When that technique fails him, he turns to the only thing that could placate his thoughts.

      "Spock...what did that guy mean with all those accusations he made? How did he know all of that information about the Federation's past? Could the Federation have possibly come this galaxy before?"

      "Impossible, Captain. Our only information on the galaxy are from observational records and infrared images. There are no records of Starfleet ever encountering or interacting with this galaxy," Spock reminds him of the records in the database- or lack thereof. And that is the kind of thing that always piqued Jim Kirk's curiosity.

      "'Impossible'? No. But there is something not right about all of this, and I am going to figure out what it is," Kirk resolves, anger and vengeance motivating his steps as he storms out of the conference room and down the hallway. Spock easily follows on the Captain's heel.

      "What do you intend to do?"

      "First? Get my ship and crew to safety, give them time to heal. Then, we send in the troops- to either solve this or end this," he promises as the turbolift door closes.

* * *

 

 

      As some time passes on the Bridge, some news comes along that helps to relieve Kirk's tension headache.

      "Captain, I have discovered a class M planet 864km from our location. It is a desert planet; temperatures at approximately 49-degree Celsius mark in the day and around the 16-degree mark at night. Second planet away from its star. Primary scans show no life forms on the planet," the navigator explains, sending over their findings to Spock's PADD- since the Captain was over by the commander's station. Kirk leans over the Vulcan's shoulder to analyze the planet's data as well, rapidly taking in every last digit and detail before he lets himself relax.

      "Excellent. Thank you, Ensign; great work. Sulu, set a course directly to the planet for immediate landing on the surface," he orders as Spock sends the coordinates over to the piloting console. "Ensign, have the navigation team find us a landing spot with lots of mountains around for cover. We need someplace that will cloak our physical appearance and signature as much as possible to avoid detection while we repair the ship, and our crew," Jim strategizes and both of the gold shirts give the affirmative. He begins to start making his way over to the navigation console to help out before Spock redirects him.

      "Captain, it has been a long day and now we have a moment to take a break. I suggest you head back to your quarters to tend to your needs while you have the moment," he suggests.

      "And how do you suggest I should 'tend to my needs', Mr. Spock?" Jim asks with his own raised brow.

      "Changing your uniform. Taking care of your hygiene. And a shower might be in your best interest, Captain," Spock sends back a raised brow on that last quip.

      "Touche, Mr. Spock. I think I will take advantage of your offer though, thank you. You have the conn until I return," he says while already making his way towards the lift. Spock gives him the affirmative as the door closes.

      As the turbolift makes its descent to the officer quarters, he flips open his communicator. "Captain to Medbay. Bones, we are heading planet side, T- minus 38 minutes," he informs Bones. He then, letting his voice taking on more of a meek tone. "How is everyone in Medbay?" he asks for the update on his crew.

      "Well, what a dermal regenerator can fix has fixed, and what time will fix will have to fix on its own. We're keeping everyone here with us, though. How are you doing kid? We've been at this for over 24 hours now," Bones means to check in on his friend.

      "I'm alright, got a bit of a tension headache. Spock is letting me head back to my quarters to shower and unwind before we pull into the planet's orbit," he tells his friend.

      "That's good to hear," and Bones gives his only sigh of relief for the next while. "It shouldn't have turned out this way, Jim," Bones says, his exhaustion and worry bleeding through the comm. Jim couldn't agree with him more.

* * *

 

 

      A few hours after landing on the planet surface and everything seemed to finally be running smoothly. The Enterprise had landed in a smooth groove of mountain pass; the mountains were tall enough to block the sun from blaring directly down on the ship. Every single last crew member on the ship was busy with work to repair the ship- the hull, the engines, the electric, the labs, and the crew itself. In their books, this was peace- a chance to rest and heal and recoup.

      This calm after the storm lasted for a day before another storm kicked up. "Captain?" a young, petite ensign in blue asks for permission to approach. Kirk gives an open nod and the Ensign wastes no time as she dives into her findings. "While I was studying and recording the energy signatures of the energy-absorbing plasma, I came across the same signature approximately 2 kilometers from here. Digging into the signature a bit more to uncover what it was doing here, I found something hiding underneath it. The energy is being used as a cloaking device; using its energy to absorb and hide the energy of life signatures.  There is a large collection of life signatures in this one area."

      Kirk instantly switches from relaxed to on alert, from years of practice- and survival. "How many lifeforms can you detect?"

      "I've counted 15, sir, possibly more but it would take a closer look to determine. There is some interference coming from that area," she explains. Kirk takes a look over at Spock, who had come over who had come over once he heard about the danger. Jim rapidly analyzed every aspect of the impending danger to their vulnerable state before he gave his next order. "The ship is grounded by its repairs, so we cannot move it or waste energy on cloaking ourselves. We cannot risk this being nothing, or risk being discovered by them either. We have to send an away team to check it out and determine what the threat level truly is. We can form a plan of action from there."

      "Agreed, Captain. Shall I com down to Lt. Hendorff to prepare the away team?" Spock inquires.

      "Yes, have him gather officers with combat training just in case. We also need to prepare cooling gear for the heat and water to take with us," Kirk gives the direction as he heads straight to the turbolift. Spock follows wordlessly behind, only needing to quirk his brow to communicate to his captain that he was aware of his plan. "You're going to head down with me?" Kirk asks.

      "By now, I have started to take some luxury to assume we are always a part of the away team," Spock informs him. Kirk just smiles to himself and nods as the turbolift descends.


	4. Let Me Out of the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spock and Jim both find some answers and many more questions to worry about. Nothing ever goes smoothly when it comes to facing the final frontier.  
> Rating: M  
> Warnings: violence, sneak attack, slave cell tw, hostage tw, sex slave tw, implied rape tw, abuse tw (no explicit details)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Text in italics are spoken in the Vulcan language
> 
> This is the chapter where the reader-insert character would appear, but for the sake of the story and posting it on this site, I changed the reader into an OC named Snoon. If anyone would prefer to read this story in reader-insert format, I have it published that way on my tumblr. Otherwise, it is the exact same story!  
> https://musingsongbird.tumblr.com/post/162930445646/star-trek-new-horizons-masterlist

      Everything was hot, and bright. From the white sands of the desert landscape you could see physical heatwaves rising into the pale sky. Only plants that could survive the intensity of the heat were bare weeds and brush. The sun seemed directly overhead, no matter where the team was in their route to the danger zone. Kirk led the security team as they rode through the pelting sands and winds, covered with layers of robes- from the advice and previous experience of Commander Spock- and thick goggles to block out the sand and sun. The commander was right at Kirk's side, with Cupcake following on the left and the other three officers of the away team following behind.

      "Captain, we are coming up on the area in question. 2400 meters ahead," one of the security officers says over the radio in their helmets. Kirk takes a look ahead, seeing some rising hills of sand in the distance.

      "Alright, we're going to head into those upcoming hills. Scout the area from there and then proceed into the zone," Kirk gives the order, swerving to head to the far side of the hill. All officers follow in line, coming to a stop at the bottom of a particularly tall hill. The shade felt good on Kirk's warm face as he removed his helmet. He shifted around in his robes to free his satchel- old fashioned leather- to pull out his hi-def display device before he makes his way up the hill, moving onto his belly as he makes it to the top. From plain sight, he could see a small structure- square and bare- in the middle of a plane of sand dunes. He brings the display device to his eyes to get more details on the mystery structure. Where was the interference coming from? How many lifeforms were truly in there?

      "It looks like a large shack. Poor construction work, with old brick. I see a few small windows on the east and west sides," Kirk explains as he scouts the place, then handing the device over his shoulder for Spock to take. "That door on the north side looks like the only way in. What do you think we should do, Cupcake?" Kirk calls back. Cupcake comes up closer on his side to gain his own look at the building.

      "The portable scanner that the science department lent us to use is still giving us the same reading, even now that we are closer to the signal. 15 apparent bodies and some signatures of other possible bodies. We need to get in there to get an exact count and gain information on what they are doing here and what they are doing to cause the interference. They wouldn't need it if they weren't up to something," Cupcake assumes and Kirk nods in agreement.

     "What do you suggest we do to get in there?" Kirk asks.

     "Starting with an attack would be reckless; we do not know for sure if they are hostile or innocent. But we need to go in prepared as if they are hostile. Ensigns Yang and Downer can use one of those dunes closer to shack to take a look into the windows- see what they are up to in there- as we close int. Then when we get the green light you, commander Spock and I can head in through the front door, have the lieutenants follow us from behind for backup," Cupcake plans out.

     "Very well, Lieutenant. We shall follow your lead," Spock cues, and Cupcakes gives a nod before heading back to rally with the other security officers.

     "What do you think, Spock? Think they are friendly?" Kirk asks as they continue to carefully watch over the shack, as if the chaos would go down any second.

      "There are too many coincidences- such as the cloaking device they are using and the secluded location- to indicate anything within reason for them to be here," Spock concludes.

      "You're right. And sadly, I don't think even your logic can dictate where this is going to go." Kirk pats Spock on the shoulder before using the leverage to raise to his feet and walk over to Cupcake. Cupcake was drawing a make-shift plan of the shack in the sand for the other two guards and diagram out their pathways and points of entry. They set the plan in stone- or in the sand- and prepare their supplies, setting all their phasers to stun.

      Cupcake, Jim and Spock race down and through the hills of sand, bracing their bodies against the harsh walls of sand from the wind and holding tight to their robes and phasers as they continued to run. Cupcake kept his eyes set on the shack as it slowly solidified through the heat waves. Spock kept his eyes on the horizon, keeping his mind and senses alert in case of any dangers. And Kirk kept a watchful eye on his team, keeping track of his immediate team and the officers trailing behind them. He watches them fall into place behind one of the larger hills right off the grounds the shack was built on. Kirk, Spock and Cupcake fall into line around the corner from the door, backing themselves against the wall to lay in wait.

      Kirk's comm chirps. "Captain, Commander, Lieutenant. We have clear vision into the shack. Looks like one large room. About 10 men visible. 6 are gathered at a table by the window on the west side. Two on the couch at the north side. One standing at the book shelf on the east. From what I can tell by the men who are standing, they have weapons strapped at their waists, plus weapons and money on the table," lieutenant Yang informs them all over the Captain's comm. Kirk gets to work stripping the extra layers of clothing, not wanting anything to hinder his mobility once he is in there.

     "Alright lieutenants. Thank you, head down now," he gives the order and stows away his comm and switches it out with his phaser.

     "Captain, the initial scan of the shack determined 15 men inside. We are missing counts on 5 men," Spock points out once it dawns on him, and no sooner than the words leave his mouth the sound of phaser fire fills the air. All the men duck and Kirk looks out into the distance, seeing Yang and Downer shooting at three figures rushing their sides over the hills. Yang twists from Downer's side to shoot over his shoulder, taking down two of the figures before Downer shoots the final figure in the leg to cripple him.

      Loud shouts in foreign tongues come from the shack in response to the new spectacle.

      "Well, I guess we have our answer now!" Kirk yells, turning around the corner to kick in the door and charge the shack. Kirk charges in first, taking down two men right at the entrance who thought they were prepared. Spock, on his back, shoots at three men shooting at them from the back of the room, crippling them before they can touch the Captain. Cupcake follows through and sweeps the sides of the room, sending two men down to the floor. With hardly any furniture to hide behind besides the couch Cupcake had cleared, the entire room was a shooting range; phaser plasma flying around with only two targets to hit: walls or bodies. Kirk could not even truly focus on the features of the being he was shooting at, they were popping up and firing back too quickly. All he had to rely on was his reflexes, and the reflexes of his team to save them from this.

      Spock is able to successfully shoot the last being in the room, leaving it deathly silent and smelling of sulfur and seared skin. Kirk holsters his phaser once he knows the danger is gone, and sweeps the damage with his eyes as Spock and Cupcake move to investigate their surroundings. The two lieutenants fall into the room and join with Cupcake to check the bodies, and Spock starts to run his tricorder over the perimeter to locate the source of the jamming signal.

      "Captain, these men do not appear to belong to any species from the Federation," Cupcake says in shock as he crouches over a body on the floor. This instantly boils the blood in Kirk's veins. On his left, Kirk notices a semi-conscious creature that looked to be the same race as the goblin-esque Avenger. Kirk kneels down to the floor, balling the creature's robes in his fist as he angrily jerks him around.

      "Who are you? Why did you attack us?" The man's consciousness was beginning to visibly fade from his eyes, but he still had enough energy to give a nervous look over in the corner of the shack before his eyes rolled back into his skull. Kirk lays him down on the floor before he stands and follows the line of where his eyes went. A simple, oak bookshelf stood in the otherwise empty corner of the room, and Spock was instantly over- knowing the Captain's curiosity- to help him move the bookshelf to the side to fond what he knew would be there: a hidden passageway in the floor. With a glance up at Spock as his cue, Kirk throws open the hatch, Spock already have pulled out his phaser and aims it down into the dim cell.

      When nothing but darkness and silence emerges from the cell, Kirk takes out his own phaser and nods to Spock, starting to make his way down the passage. From the only light coming from above, Kirk could see the cell was made of old, slippery stone. Kirk could hear the sound of water dripping on the stone, but it was the silence past the dripping that made him unsettled.

      A figure rushes Kirk from behind and grabs hold of him from around the neck, and Kirk feels the sharp sting of a blade before Spock fires his phaser at the attacker and sends him to the floor. Kirk can manage to take in one deep breath before he is pulling out his phaser to shoot at the figure charging Spock from behind.

      As the figure's body hits the floor, a glowing baton falls out of his robes and slides across the slick stone. Kirk follows behind it to catch it with his foot, reaching down to grab it and lift it up into the darkness. Stained faces with bleary eyes appear behind bars, and shrill shrieks and screams of fear pierce the silence of the hall as many recognizable Federation species flinch their bruised and beaten bodies away from the unfamiliar men. Kirk and Spock find with horror many crowded prisoner cells that created a passageway into an ever-darker abyss.

      "Holy shit."

* * *

 

 

_Captains Log, supplemental_

_By chance, it seems we have come across a slave cell on the far reaches of our galaxy. So far our rescue team has discovered over 30 women, men and androgynous sexes of many different Federation races. Each have varying severities of bruising, cuts, torture, and signs of long- term physical and sexual abuse. Whether these injuries were from previous customers overtime or from their kidnappers recently, will be determined by Doctor McCoy and his staff once they transport all of the survivors into the ship. We did find a few victims who had been killed within the hour, around the time the criminals would have discovered our team approaching. It was most likely to hide evidence or information of bigger illegal and immoral activity, but we cannot be sure at this time._

      "Spock," Leonard's urgent voice echoes across the dungeon. The Vulcan quickly makes his way down to the very last cell in the hall. Dimly lit from the light of one torch he was barely able to make out the two bodies sitting in the cell. One was of the doctor, another of a chained up young woman- arms pinned over her head with green copper blood dripping down her arms. Leonard was injecting hypo after hypo into her neck to stop the bleeding and running a regenerator over the larger wounds to clot them.

      "Looks like they tried to finish her off before we arrived but we interrupted them. I have her stable enough to transport her back to the Enterprise, but I need to take her into surgery to fix the major wounds and organ damage. I thought it was best if you tried to talk to her... considering," Leonard shrugs and steps back to make room for Spock to move closer.

      Spock kneels down in front of the woman, taking close stock of her appearance. Long, dark locks were matted around her downcast face just as her garb was stained with green blood. The golden chest plate she wore was inscribed with Vulcan text- reading of a harsh old poem from pre- reform times. Her dusky skin was covered in dark green bruises and markings from head to toe, no amount of fancy jewelry or sexual garb could cover that. Pointed ears peaked out from her locks on her head. Spock's heart pounded in his side- a flood of emotions nearly overwhelming his composure, from heartbreak of seeing this woman like this and the anger that anyone would dare treat a survivor of Vulcan this way. He kept his tone low when he spoke in his native tongue, not to rattle her.

      " _Greetings. I am S'chn Tgai Spock of the Federation Starship Enterprise. We are here to rescue you. Can you tell me your given name and clan?"_  

      She visibly jolts at the commander's words, and wearily struggles for a moment to pick her head up and match his gaze.

      Blue eyes meet brown ones in surprise.

      "Snoon..." Spock whispers in shock.

      "Spock..." she whispers back, voice horse and broken. She hastily swallows any saliva she had to try to speak again. "The other women...are they alright?"

      "Do not worry Snoon, you are safe now. The other girls are being transported aboard the Enterprise for medical attention and the men who did this are dead. They cannot hurt you anymore." 

      Leonard watches the girl as she visibly gives a sigh of relief and whispers some Vulcan words back. She closes her eyes and her whole body collapses, being held up only by her chains. "Snoon? Snoon! Stay with us, Snoon!" The doctor begins to yell, instantly reaching for her until Spock gestures for him to stop.

      "No doctor, she has gone into a healing trance. She is now trying to repair the internal damage done to her body... She will be out for a while, considering the severity of her injuries."

      "I still need to get her to the Enterprise to get her into surgery as soon as possible," Leonard presses.

      "Indeed, Doctor. It would be beneficial for her to have both...She will need it," he mumbles, uncharacteristically.


	5. Painting the Sunset in My Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snoon has been rescued. Jim has to reach out to Starfleet about what has happened. Spock struggles with his conflicting feelings about finding Snoon. Leonard has to work to save everyone's lives. And who knows how any of it is going to turn out.  
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: language (mostly mccoy), mentions of trauma tw, mentions of past physical and sexual abuse tw, recovery tw, hospital tw, mentions of death

      This was the kind of moment Jim Kirk dreaded the most. 

      The anxiety, the uncertainty of what the other person would say or how they would react. He felt no guilt about what he had done or the decisions he had made- or will make soon to come- but he and the Admirals never seemed to quite agree on the way he went about doing the things that needed to be done. What else could he have done? Called Starfleet first just to have them say to turn back around? No, it was his team that discovered the destruction, and someone had to do something about it- so it made sense that they had to be the ones to go. They couldn't just turn a blind eye to it and pretend billions of lives were not in danger.

      Kirk sighed and raked his hands through his hair at the thought. _Danger_. That captain, that ship, that galaxy, he... put his crew in danger. He knew it was those Avengers' fault, that they were the one who enacted the attack based on some sort of revenge, but... even if it did come with the territory of the job he never, ever could come to terms with risking the lives of his crew under any circumstance. The empty bottle at his side in honor of the lives they lost in that battle was his proof enough of that. He was the Captain; calls such as this one were up to his discretion. And he knew the decisions he needed to make- as a member of a union as progressive as Starfleet, as a Captain his crew could respect, as a decent human being.

      These were the moments he still wished Chris was around. If he had to be scolded and reprimanded like a child, he would rather it be from someone he actually saw as a father- figure. Otherwise it was just frustrating and humiliating. And Chris would at least have known that Jim would not change his mind, no matter how much he tried to lecture it out of him. Chris knew Jim needed to captain with his gut, with what he knew was the best thing to do for everyone involved. Chris nurtured that in him. Chris truly stood beside Jim, even if they did not agree. But, that was just the kind of man Chris was.

      Once the chime on the com signals a caller, he is pulled from the memories and back into reality.

      "Kirk," the Admiral's tone is instantly hard and frigid. "Give me one good reason not to kick you out of that chair and have your crew move you into detention right now."

      "Admiral Bennett, nice to see you too. Space is going well, as you can see. How are things on Earth these days?" 

      "You're the one under scrutiny here and you are going to give me sass?" the Admiral chastises Kirk, looking affronted. Kirk just sighs and lets go of pretenses.

      "You ask me for diplomacy and to represent Starfleet, and I do. You ask me to Captain a starship in deep space, to make the tough calls, and I do that too. I did that with this mission. The Federation was founded upon the values of connecting with and aiding all lifeforms in our shared universe; how could I turn a blind eye to so many in immediate danger?"

      "Kirk, it's _how_ you acted in the name of those values that's under scrutiny here. You should have told us first. That is proper procedure, period," the admiral lectures.

      "So what, your council could tell me 'no'? Or have me waste time waiting for you to convene and get back to me to give me permission for something that needed to be done anyway? Something that is truly time sensitive. We were right there, we discovered the danger- the time to act was then or never. There was no time to go back or piddle around; there still isn't."

      "Kirk, I'm not going to say you were wrong with your decision. And yeah, a few of the other admirals here might have tried to shut it down. But we have the chain of command for a reason- we can't have ship's going rogue whenever they feel like it.

      But- had you called first- I would have supported your decision." That actually throws Kirk off his pedestal. "And yes, the turn- out of the initial meeting with the Canis Avengers was unforeseeable in any scenario. We will go back there and figure this out. But, do not get me wrong here Kirk: there will be consequences once this is all over," the admiral lightly admonishes him, nearly giving him a wink before he slips back into formal-mode.

      "Repair your ship enough to get it flying again. We will have you dock at the closest starbase in the quadrant- Starbase 87- for more repairs and to drop off the survivors of the cell. We have already begun to contact many families and they are eager to have their loved ones back so they can go home."

      "Thank you, Admiral. That is good to hear. It would also be helpful to us if you could talk to the families about when their loved ones initially went missing. We are trying to piece together how long this cell has been around. Doctor McCoy has run some analysis on some of the more severe injuries on his patients to see if we could approximate in our own way. Some of those injuries were years old. They have all faced an unimaginable trauma- physical and mental- that the families are going to need to be aware of and prepared for. They have a long road of recovery ahead of them. But with the support of their families I am sure they will be alright," Kirk explains, trying to remain hopeful and positive, for their sake and for the sake of what his crew might have to face next.

      "A slave cell with beings from the Milky Way, run by the Canis galaxy," the admiral solemnly muses. "Sounds like purposeful revenge to me. For whatever reason it is, they truly detest the Federation and are willing to go lengths to see us fall apart. The other admirals are not going to be eager to head back there," Bennett says apprehensively.

      "But that does not mean they are all savage. What about helping the billions of innocent people of the Canis Dwarf Galaxy?"

      "Yes, we will get to that, but for the moment I am more concerned about the claims they had against the Federation. Can you tell me more about those?"

      Now was Kirk's turn to become uncomfortable. "I honestly can't tell you why they hate us so much, because they really wouldn't say. They told us the Federation is hiding its dark secrets from us, and the only reason we were sparingly sent back was to dig them up and warn others about our dangers. They believe we are toxic and mindless, that we follow our Federation blindly... but, he did not speak as if this was some unfounded, biased belief about the Federation. He spoke... as if it was from personal experience, like he had a bad experience with the Federation before. But, there are no records of interactions with the galaxy anywhere in Starfleet's archives," Kirk elaborates, his own confusion growing and growing as the words fell out of his mouth. He couldn't make any sense from this; there was either some mistake in the captain's statements or details missing from this story. He didn't like either scenario more than the other.

      "I do admit it is suspicious, and something that may need to be looked into- for the sake of protecting and rectifying the Federation. If these guys are that developed and hateful towards our Federation and Fleet, they could be dangerous down the road. It won't stop at just kidnapping and selling off those of our galaxy, I have a feeling," the Admiral says in a way that makes Kirk's stomach sink. "We need to look into it more. I will approve to have a few starships meet you at Starbase 87 to join your mission to head back to the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy as soon as the Enterprise is repaired. We must negotiate or create peace with them, and then do what we can to help rescue those on Demarxus before the planet is destroyed." Kirk finds relief in that and eagerly agrees.

      The admiral takes a pause in his order to stare down Kirk in a way he could truly feel across the galaxy. "I'm not condoning the way you went about this, Kirk. But you did make the call Starfleet needed to make. Now that we've started this, we have to finish it."

* * *

 

 

      "Spock?" Uhura says from the doorway, as way of asking permission to enter the room.

      "Nyota, please come in," Spock says politely, but does not look at her as he speaks. He keeps his attention on the bed in front of him. Uhura makes her way into the dimly lit room and takes the chair beside Spock, positioning herself to face him directly. Before she speaks, she looks at the hard expression forced onto his face as he watches the woman unconscious in the bed.

      "I am so sorry Spock. I know this must be hard for you to see- with her being a fellow Vulcan," she attempts to sympathize, and to see what headspace he is in. 

      "Yes, indeed it is. For her to be a survivor of Vulcan and to have be a survivor of this level of abuse at the same time... I do not even know if she knows about the former," he cuts off his heavy thought process with a new thought. "How am I supposed to tell her, Nyota? That Saveesh and T'Falla- her parents- were killed in the destruction of our home planet?"

      Nyota thinks on the question and chooses her words carefully. "You just... have to tell her the truth Spock. You know she has a right to know. You just have to say it in a way that will be...sensitive and mindful to where she is at right now," Nyota attempts to explain. Spock seems to understand and goes back into his stoic silence. "So, she is also an old friend of yours?" Nyota catches on and attempts to get more information.

      "Vulcan's do not make 'friends', Nyota," Spock corrects her.

      "Spock," she lightly admonishes. He grows solemnly quiet for a moment, weighing his options on how much to reveal before he just dives right into it.

      "We spent much time together in our youth. Her family lived very close to my home. She was studying to become a Xenoanthropolgist and came to our house often to discuss and learn about Earth with my mother. My mother...took a keen interest in Snoon as well. It made her very happy to have someone to talk to about her home planet," Spock bittersweetly recalls. 

      Nyota nods in understanding. "When was the last time you saw her?"

      "Before I left to join Starfleet. She was the one who initially got the idea in my head of joining; she is a few years younger than I and wished to join once she was of age. When I announced that I would be joining Starfleet after turning down the Vulcan Science Academy, she was very supportive of my decision and helped me plan my journey to Earth. She... did not seem to mind my half-human status, like so many others." 

      A twisted, pain- filled expression crosses Spock's face then. "I heard about her occasionally from my mother. I was... hesitant to reach out on my own. Mother told me Snoon continued her studies on Vulcan for a few years until she could get a full ride scholarship to Starfleet. Mother told me of when she got her acceptance to the Academy and the date she was journeying to Earth... and that her shuttle was destroyed. Starfleet did an investigation on the attack and concluded it was attacked by Klingons, and I assumed Snoon was dead. My mother mourned her death..." Spock chokes up then. "She mourned the wrong thing. I should have thoroughly checked the reports, to see that something was wrong!"

      Uhura reaches put to place a firm hand on Spock's shoulder. "There was no way you could have known it was attackers from another galaxy Spock. You can't blame yourself for things out of your control. Those bastards are the ones that kidnapped her. That was not your fault," she consoles him, but speaks nothing but the truth. She worried that if he had inherited his mother's tear ducts, he would be uncontrollably sobbing right now. The painful guilt was obvious in his eyes, and only seemed to partially diminish after she spoke, but he still remained silent. She decided to change the subject.

      "What has Doctor McCoy said about her condition?"

      "The doctor is here and can speak for himself," Leonard announces his entrance into the room.

      "You are 7.4 minutes late to administer her next round of supplements," Spock says- a little too- pointedly, glaring up at the Doctor from his seat. The doctor feels the jab and glares right back at Spock, his eyes red-rimmed and glassy from sleep deprivation.

      "Well, one of the other patients I am trying to save may have just needed an extra 7 minutes of care, you pointy- eared stopwatch!"

      "Leonard! Spock!" Nyota snaps, and both of the men go begrudgingly silent at her command. Spock stays silent and keeps his eyes averted from Leonard and Nyota, and Leonard scratches the back of his head before he speaks.

      "Look...forgive me Spock, but all the staff have overflowing patient lists from this monstrosity and the attack. We have people slipping from life every moment and...we're all just fighting death around here." Spock remains passively silent for a long pause.

      "We both have a lot on our minds right now, Doctor," Spock finally says, and Nyota figures it was as close to crossing the bridge as Spock would get right now. Leonard also seemed placated with it.

      "So, any changes that you've noticed since I saw her last, Spock?" the Doctor asks, pulling out his PADD to begin taking notes.

      "None, doctor. She is still deep in her healing trance."

      "How long did you say those can last again? I want to make note of it in her chart."

      Spock noticeably hesitates before he speaks. "It mainly varies depending on the severity of her injuries, Doctor, but a Vulcan healing trance can take up to 7 days."

      McCoy jots it down. "Uh-huh. And when you need to quickly wake a Vulcan from their healing trance you _slap_ them?" he asks incredulously.

      "Yes, doctor. Doctor M'Benga and the Captain have had to wake me from a few healing trances in this manner," Spock explains, placing a hand on his cheek as he recalls the instances. "M'Benga is very... proficient with his technique to make sure it works the first time." McCoy just hums in understanding. M'Benga could be the one to slap her if they ended up needing it. McCoy's mama and nana raised him better than that.

      "That information was not in the databanks?" Uhura questions.

      "No, because hobgoblins take the word 'privacy' way too seriously, even against better logic," McCoy says with a pointed look to Spock.

      "A lot of information regarding Vulcan medicine is kept private, and only disclosed to trusted parties when absolutely necessary," Spock simply states.

      "Don't take offence to this Leonard, but how come M'Benga couldn't see her? He's specialized in Vulcan medicine since he studied on the original colony," Uhura asks.

      "Because M'Benga is the only one who is trained with the Kessik's, a planet close to the Starbase he served on before the Enterprise. According to him, they were targeted by those Canis guys since the planet hosts Federation settlements. Right now, we are all being spread as far as we can be. Even Chapel is up to her eyes in patients because of how many of the survivors feel more comfortable with a woman physician right now."

      Uhura simply nods in understanding. "I wonder how Snoon will respond once she wakes," Uhura ponders.

      "Because she is a Vulcan, she will approach the situation logically to find peace within herself about the trauma. It is how you have said: they are the ones who have chosen to act in this way," Spock explains blankly. Then pauses. "But she will be stronger and wiser than I, because I cannot find any logical reason for someone to hurt others this way."


	6. The Truth Always Comes Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Snoon finally awakens from her healing trance, she, Spock, Leonard have a lot to catch each other up on. Snoon gives the Enterprise crew the first look at the masterminds behind the Canis vendetta.  
> Rating: M  
> Warnings: medical tw, abuse and sexual abuse tw, malnourishment tw, past mentions of emotional and physical trauma tw, mentions of violence, mentions of Amanda's death

      On the morning of the fifth day after the rescue of the Canis survivors, McCoy wakes up on the cot in his office. Surprise first registers in his mind that no codes had happened throughout the night- from the survivors or from Scotty's crew trying to repair the ship at break- neck speed before anyone else could spot them. Then a begrudging motivation to get up makes his body begin to move. He grunts as he pushes himself into a sitting position and stretches his arms up, relishing and wincing at the miscellaneous pops and cracks his body makes. His mind tries to persuade him to go back to sleep, but he knows spending a day in bed is not a luxury he can afford right now. He has had just enough rest to go back out to do what he needs to do for his patients.

      First thing he sees when he walks out of his office is the ship's First Officer seated in the waiting chairs right outside his office, and nearly hanging off the side of it. By the low setting of the Medbay lights McCoy could tell it was still too early for visiting hours, so he could deduce the Vulcan had decided to wait here for visiting hours to begin and had fallen asleep from exhaustion in the meantime.

      "Spock. Spock, wake up," McCoy hisses at him, shaking his shoulder lightly. The Vulcan jerks awake and shoves McCoy's hand off of his shoulder, giving him a glare through droopy eyes.

      "I am awake, Doctor," Spock mumbles, catching himself at the end with an infliction on the title.

      McCoy rolls his eyes to the ceiling. "You are falling asleep in the chair."

      "No, I am merely resting my eyes," Spock attempts to cover.

      "Spock, even my measly human brain can see that you haven't slept, and _that_ is most likely your uniform from Beta shift. Yesterday. Have you been here since you got off shift?" Spock just looks up at the Doctor.

     "I was hoping you would awaken at some point and allow me to see Snoon before visiting hours," Spock says meekly. Leonard's heart broke for the guy, and he moves to sit next to him.

     "Spock, look, I know you are worried for her. But running yourself into the ground like this isn't going to make her wake from her trance any faster." McCoy quickly pulls up her chart on his PADD to glance it over and then hands it to Spock to look at for himself. "Look; her vitals have not changed since the nurse checked on her at the middle of gamma shift. 

      Do yourself a favor, Spock. Go take care of yourself, so you can better take care of her. You need to be rested and fed and not smell like a green onion. You deserve to be taken care of in this time too, and you know exactly what you need the most." Spock takes Leonard's advice into consideration while nervously looking towards her room, and gives a sigh in resignation. He hands the PADD back to Leonard.

      "I suppose...your advice is logical."

      "Yeah, and don't make me make it a habit neither. Now go get some rest. Doctor's orders," McCoy says with a light slap to Spock's arm as he gets up. 

      Spock follows him up and calls out to get his attention. "You will alert me of any changes to Snoon's condition?"

      "Spock, the moment I know anything more about her condition I will let you know," McCoy promises. Spock then gives a placated nod and turns to leave. McCoy shakes his head as he watches the goblin march out and pulls up your chart on his PADD again as he turns to walk into her room.

      "Good morning, doctor," a hoarse voice calls from the bed.

      Leonard nearly falls over as his brain catches up with his vision; seeing the girl sitting up in bed, hands placed in her lap and blue eyes already locked onto his.

      Leonard tepidly makes his way into the room and over to the foot of her bed. "Hello, Snoon. How are you feeling?" he asks, quickly shaking off his shock to step into his doctor- mode. He watches her vitals closely as she speaks, noticing the low energy and heartrate levels- even for a Vulcan- flashing on the monitor.

      "I am well enough to be out of my healing trance, doctor. My organs are now able to function on their own, and thanks to your intervention my body is on a steady path to recovery," she says stoically, but to McCoy's trained ears he can hear the tired slur behind her tone.

      "Well, you're not wrong," he mumbles as he scrolls through the chart. "Your levels have improved; not where I want them to be though. But better is better. How is your pain? And your...mental state; not emotional, I know. This is the first chance we've had to talk since you've come on the ship. Can you tell me your medical history? Anything of importance that you need to tell me?" He sits at the bedside with his PADD at the ready to jot down any new information.

      "There is nothing of dire importance that I need to share at this time, Doctor. I have no allergies or pre-existing conditions. You already have all the current medical information you will need to work with," she says, breaking her eyes away to look into the distance and shut down the probing. Leonard just runs his hand over his face in frustration in his chair before he gets up again.

      "Well, the current information is that you are still severely malnourished compared to where you need to be. Your body is under developed from the years of malnutrition, and that unfortunately cannot be fixed. You are also extremely underweight and low on many essential nutrients, which we can fix overtime with supplements. You will most likely feel your energy pick up over the next few days. And within a few weeks we should be able to take you off the supplements completely."

      Leonard's tone takes on a heavy infliction as he talks about the next part. "We were able to reset your bones properly from old fractures and breaks. We have been running a dermal regenerator on you daily to repair the abrasions and bruising to your skin...and pelvic and anal regions. The more severe injuries will need more treatments to fix."

      She shows no outward response to his analysis and continues to keep her eyes focused ahead, into the Medbay through the observation window. "And the other girls?" she asks instead.

      "For the most part they are doing better," he is relieved to tell her. "We have given them all the same treatment to which they are responding mostly positively to. There is still a lot of trauma to deal with, however; physically and mentally. We are trying to determine how long that cell had been runnin' for," he murmurs as he runs a hand through his short locks in agitation- from confusion and anger.

      "I have been at that particular cell for 4.16 years. I was kidnapped by the Solarans 8.2 years ago." Leonard's heart broke for the pain in the girl's tone and body, but he tried not to let it show as strongly as he felt it. He did not want to scare her even more. He opted to keep things on safe, professional territory side of things. 

      "The Solarans. Who are they?" He makes sure to open a message to Jim on his PADD to send him these details.

      "They are one of the oldest civilizations in the galaxy's history, and their planet is located towards the center of the galaxy. They lead the vendetta against the Federation, though I am unsure of their part in the formation of the vendetta. They established that cell just to obtain prisoners from the Milky Way Galaxy." Leonard has to hold back a shudder at that. Targeting the Federation's people precisely. It was disgusting and so horrible it made his stomach want to lurch.

      "How did they get you?"

      "...I was taken hostage when I was en route to Earth to start at the Academy." Leonard stares at her with a melancholy expression on his face, and then quietly sends the message and shuts down the PADD. He sets it down on a side table and approaches her bedside again, stopping himself when he notices her body beginning to lean away from him.

      "May I take a look at your injuries?" he asks for permission. "I... like to see how the injuries are healing myself. Trust my own hand more than those freaky machines."

      Snoon takes a deep breath in and shakily asks, "Is it... necessary?" His heart breaks and he almost retracts his question, but he knows the best way he could help her is to do what he needed to do to gain better insight to her condition.

      "Yes. Please," he asks politely again. The expression on Snoon's face is obvious in her desire to tell him to go away, but she dejectedly nods her head at him in permission.

      Leonard slowly reaches to check her injuries by hand, and flinches as she jerks in automatic response to his approach. She looks up at him, face stone cold but eyes bright with shame, and reluctantly offers him her arm as she turns to look away. His heart breaks at the sight and he has to hold back his emotions as he reaches and touches her warm skin. He delicately moves his hand along her hand and up her arm, over her shoulder and up her neck to her skull, then back down through her ribs and sides and all the way through to her legs and feet. He feels every muscle, bone and ligament under her skin; noticing the way they felt and analyzing rapidly in his mind the way each felt compared to how they were supposed to feel. Frail, small, weak, but healing and growing stronger each day. Repairing. He breathes a sigh of relief as he gently lets her go.

      "We're going to keep you going on the same treatment for now, since your body seems to be responding positively to the supplements. I am also going to write a referral for you to speak to the ship's psychologist- just like everyone else we rescued from the cell-" he says pointedly before she can object, "until we bring you to the Starbase." 

      "To which Starbase are we headed?" she asks.

      "Starbase 87. Our engines are still under repair but once Scotty... our chief engineer, has them fixed it will still only have limited power. The Captain has been helping down in the engine room and Spock has been helping the science team analyze the stuff those Canis guys used to deplete our generators."

      Snoon perks up at the mention of the Lieutenant Commander. "Spock is on this ship?"

      "Oh shit, you didn't know? Oh shit I promised to tell him when you woke up! I got distracted by doing your exam." He quickly picks up his PADD and rapidly types a message out to send to Spock. "Promise me you will not tell him I forgot to send him a message about you wakin' up. With his computer-like memory he'll set a calendar reminder in his brain to never let me forget I did this."

      "Vulcans do not hold grudges," she accosts him.

      "Yeah, well, we could sit here and argue about that all day and he'd hold a grudge against me for that, too."

      After that the moment turns awkward, to say the least. Leonard decides to stay in the room until Spock arrives, but neither of the two say another word. Leonard just goes over some charts on his PADD in one corner of the room, while Snoon unblinkingly stares out the window until Spock comes rushing through Medbay towards the room. She perks up at his approach, nearly jumping from the bed as he enters the room.

      "Spock," Snoon calls out for him. "It is..." she begins, but pause with McCoy in the room. "It is a relief to see you here."

      "Snoon, how long have you been up?" Spock asks her.

      "I have been awake for 1 hour and 24 minutes," she clarifies. "The Doctor and I have been talking for the last 15.6 minutes." Spock shoots the doctor a pointed glare, as if to say, 'and you couldn't call me in any sooner?' McCoy shoots the same pointed glare back at Snoon, as if to say 'what the fuck?', which she notices but does not understand.

      "I did not tell him you forgot to message him." McCoy just slaps his hand to his face and groans, and Spock seems satisfied enough with that.

_"Snoon. It is good to see you awake again. May I sit with you for a while? There are a few things we need to discuss_ ," Spock tells her, looking over at McCoy with a pointed glance. Snoon also joins in, both in synch with wanting to shoo him away.

      "Alright, alright, I can't handle double the hobgoblin death- glares. I'll leave you two be," McCoy throws up his hands in mock- surrender as he makes his way out of the room. Once he is gone Spock pulls up a chair to sit next to her bedside.

      " _Snoon... I am pleased to see you again... though I am not pleased with the circumstances that brought our paths back together."_ He felt as if everything he was saying was wrong, but he had no idea on how to properly communicate his thoughts to her.

      " _I understand, Spock. I am very relieved to have another Vulcan, to have you, here on this ship with me right now,"_ Snoon confesses to him. He seems to grow more uncomfortable with that.

      "Snoon, I must apologize. I feel at fault with not investigating into your abduction. Starfleet determined the vessel transporting you to Earth was attacked by Klingons, and I went along with their conclusions. I have failed you."

      "There is no need for guilt, Spock. You could not have known it was beings from another galaxy whom attacked our ship. I assume they had covered their tracks to leave no trace of evidence or signs of life." Spock nods in affirmation, and that is the end of that conversation. As Spock had heard the colloquium a thousand times before, 'there was no need to beat a dead horse'. But, that left the air open for another, more difficult, conversation they needed to have.

      "Snoon...there is something I must inform your of, about our planet. And I am...having difficulty finding the appropriate words to convey to you- -"

      "- - that our home world is no longer in existence?" Snoon finishes for him. He stares at her in shock, and dread of how she could have heard of the news.

      "You are aware of the destruction of Vulcan?"

      "Yes. My captors... found great pleasure in frequently reminding me of the news. They knew they could continuously torment me with the grief and never let the wound close," she tells him, shutting her eyes against the stimuli rising into her awareness.

      A thought hits her then. "How are Sarek and Amanda? Are they on Earth?"

      Spock's stomach drops all over again. Of course she would not have known, of course he would still have to tell her this. She deserved to know. But this piece of news, even after all these years, was still undeniably hard to say aloud.

      "My father is well... he still serves as ambassador to Earth from New Vulcan- a planet we have colonized in the Simon-316 system. Father is a key member of the council with rebuilding and maintaining our colony and culture. My mother... my mother died in the destruction of Vulcan." 

      And Spock had become familiar with how logical the reaction Snoon could not restrain was. The pure anguish and loss that weighed in her eyes was one that Spock had integrated as a part of himself long ago. He notices and hears the tiny rips she makes as she tightly clutch at the bedsheets to attempt to control herself. Her heartrate spikes, enough to put her at a normal human heartrate. Spock grabs her arm, helping to regulate the panic and overwhelm she were feeling, and telepathically sending her waves of calm.

      Snoon leans over the bed and Spock meets her in the middle, touching his forehead against hers as she melt into the first truly innocent touch she had in a long time. " _I grieve with thee..."_ she whispers. Her body shakes from the force she had to exude to not give in to the powerful emotions that threatened to take over. It would take over if Spock was not there to ground her- and he truly felt the pain- the many different pains, Snoon was feeling as if they were his own.

      Spock had learned over the years to learn to listen to the wisdom of what different emotions such as anger and pain were trying to convey. He had learned emotions could be rationalized and learned from, they did not need be so overwhelming once they were heard and acted on. He listened to what his own grief and anger that flooded his system was telling him now, and spoke it to her. 

      "I swear to you Snoon, I shall not let them get away with what they have done to you; to all of you. I will make sure they never see the light of any sun ever again."


	7. Bring Me Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Physical and mental restoration, for the Enterprise and those on it. Short little in between chapter where we get some more development for our characters. 
> 
> Rating: M  
> Warnings: mentions of past trauma, processing of said trauma, symptoms of PTSD

      Hours and days had begun to blend together for Scotty. It had been the longest and most grueling week he could remember having in a long time. True, he spent a lot of time down in the engine room- and in the engines themselves- so he was used to a certain sense of time distortion. But with the extensive damage done to the generators by the Canis attacks, and realizing how far those damages extended into the wiring of the engines and into shutting down the warp core completely, he had spent more hours with his head in a machine than not. Or even sleeping. Something he was actually beginning to miss. He had a lot of time in his over- active- genius mind to plan upgrades to the engines and weapons to make them resistant to the goo they were analyzing down in the labs, but first he needed to get them up and working again. He groaned and rubbed at his face. Why was the universe so set to destroy his lovely Enterprise?

      "Now that the team has repaired the wiring from the power rooms back to the engines, we need to get power back through to the warp core," he instructs to Jim as the man is already crawling into a Jeffrey's tube. Luckily for the Scotsman the Captain was very knowledgeable on engine repair and the perfect size to crawl through the tubes with ease.

      "Alright Cap'n, can 'ye see any activity from the fusion coil in there? Normally it would be completely lit up like a Christmas light. That'll indicate it is receiving power from the generators and crystals to filter into the engines and warp core."

      Jim almost didn't have the heart to tell him it was lifeless. Jim squeezes himself deeper into the tube to fiddle with the coil, knocking it around this way and that to see if something would click into place. But it just remained dark.

      "No, Scotty, nothing," he yells back down.

      "Jobby!" he curses then sighs. "Alright, alright... uh, lemme see if we can filter more power from the recreations generator to shock it back online."

      "But won't that drain the power to the quarters and replicators?" Jim asks.

      "Well, fine, no need to worry about getting off this planet as long as the crew has their lattes, right?" Scotty comments.

      "Scotty that's not what I meant," Jim groans. "I meant, can we flood it back on another way? Without cutting more resources? I know our options are limited until we can have more extensive repairs done, but..." Scotty just cuts him off with a reassuring (?) noise and goes back into his jumbled brain to think.

      "I might be able to cause a surge in the power from the generators to the fusion coil to flood it back on. Like shocking a person to bring them back to life. We would need the right balance of energy from the crystals and the generator to create the perfect jump to kick it back on," he starts scribbling the formulas out on his PADD as he talks and then heads over to the power grid to start fluxuating some of the levels. "Lemme just tinker here with these power streams... turn up the wattage and open the electric current... Alrighty, that should do it," he says conclusively. "Shield yer eyes, Cap'n!" he yells before he slams down on the controls. Kirk has barely enough time to heed the advice before a bright light floods the tube, and then fizzles back down.

      "Alright!" Scotty yells in joy as he sees the light flash on from the end of the tube. "Captain, is the light still on in there?" he yells up as soon as it is clear.

      Kirk takes the cue to mean he is able to look again, so he peeks out from behind his arm to see a bright light radiating from the coil. An uncontrollable grin breaks out on his face. "Yeah! Yeah, Scotty, the coil is back on!"

      "And with that being the case, soon here we should..." he gets interrupted by the ding on his monitor of the warp core coming back online. "Woo! We did it, Cap'n! With the warp core back online, we can maintain warp all the way to the starbase. But we have to take it easy on her, Captain. These repairs are not complete yet," Scotty explains and shows his Captain on the PADD once he makes his was out of the tube.

      "We'll take the warp core slow, but constant so we at least will not be attacked. If we keep it at warp 2, how long would it take us to reach Starbase 87, Mr. Scott?"

      Scotty travels into his head. "Probably around 5 days, sir," the Scotsman approximates.

      "Excellent. I'm going to head back up to the bridge to let everyone know the plan. Great job, Mr. Scott," Jim says with a clap to Scotty's shoulder before he turns to walk away.

      "Aye, it's all in a days work Captain. But you did help out a lot. If you ever get tired of being the captain, you're more than welcome down here as my right-hand man," he offers. Jim hears Keenser make a shrill noise and Scotty yelling back before he makes it out of engineering.

      "Well what makes you think I want you as my right-hand man? All 'ye do is sit around and climb up on things 'ye shouldn't be on!"

* * *

 

 

      Snoon was alone, and she was not sure how she felt about it.

      She had had tons of people- doctors, nurses, psychologists, the captain and commanding officer- hovering over her from the moment she had woken up. It made her feel claustrophobic and constantly on edge whenever any of them were around. At least with the empty room, Snoon felt like she could breathe.

      However, that left her alone with her thoughts. Snoon tried meditating in her bed, keeping herself comfortable and focused, but images and sensations would flood her system anytime she closed her eyes. Logically, Snoon knew it would take time to process through it until she would be stronger than the memories, and this was Snoonâ€™s first real moment of peace to begin to process it all. But for now, she was thankful Vulcan's did not need a lot of sleep. She needed to have strength- physical and mental- to fight, and right now she had none. 

      Snoon couldn't even remember who she was anymore before the Solarans had taken it all away. Even in her meditations she could not connect back to her core. All there was anymore was the void that once held the light they ripped from her. And it frightened her- to logical and illogical extremes. 

      As a Vulcan, Snoon devoted herself to a choice of logic over emotion, but right now she had no choice but to feel it, all of it.

      Snoon is pulled from her focus when her ears pick up on the click of shoes approaching her room. She tried hard to counsel her mind that she was no longer in danger, but the years of conditioning and regular heightened stress had trained her body otherwise. The perfume enters her nose and her ears pick up on the subtle shuffling of clothing. Snoon slowly opens her eyes to see a completely new face standing in the doorway.

      "Hi, Snoon. My name is Nyota Uhura, I am the senior communications officer here," the tall, beautiful woman introduces herself warmly and walks into the room. She pauses and looks around until her eyes land on the chair beside the bed. "May I sit with you?"

      "I do not require a chaperone," Snoon says a bit tersely. The woman, Uhura, flashes her a sad smile, and sits down in a chair placed at the bedside.

      "It's not like that. Spock- -" she says, then pauses to take a look around before leaning in close. " _Spock is concerned about you. He cares about you and wants to see you well. He is very restless while at work- though he would never admit it- so I promised I would come down here to check on you for him."_ She leans back into her chair. "Plus, I wanted to meet you. And get to know you as well. Any friend of Spock is a friend of mine."

      Shame begins to flood Snoon's system before she shuts it down. "You and Spock are...involved?" Snoon asks, and Uhura nods. Enough of an answer to pacify Snoon. "I...thank you, Lieutenant," she uses the woman's rank when she sees them on her sleeve. "I... appreciate your concern for me, and for doing this for Spock." Snoon intentionally tries to brush off the Lieutenant's sentiment, it making her feel uneasy and uncomfortable, but Uhura brushes that off as well.

      "It's not any trouble. It's what I want to do," she says with a soft smile to Snoon. "But, we have to keep Spock's involvement a secret from Doctor McCoy. Spock would have a fit if Leonard caught wind of Spock openly showing worry. Well, for anyone other than the Captain."

      "I have noticed the... animosity they show to each other. The doctor is not fond of Vulcan's?"

      Uhura thinks of her words carefully before speaking. "I think it's more he's not fond of Vulcan's named Spock."

      "But he refers to him as a....a 'hobgoblin'. It is a derogatory slur aimed at an entire race."

      "Well...that's true. I think it's work to understand people who are very different than you. But don't get him wrong, he's a good guy. I've never seen Leonard hurt or ignore anyone who has needed his help. In fact, he cares more deeply than most about the lives of everyone on this ship. But, he likes to play gruff to hide that side of him. Besides, anything Leonard throws at Spock, Spock can throw back with three times the strength," she makes the joke with a wink. Snoon catches on to her meaning, but does not respond. More accurately, it was a circumstance of being unsure of how to respond.

      "Is there anything I can do for you?" Uhura simply asks. Snoon appreciated her cutting the meaningless questioning and empty sympathy, and her truly offering help in any way Snoon needed.

      "I do not even know what I am needing right now, to be honest," she confesses.

      Uhura takes a moment to answer. "Well, it's hard to feel good about yourself when you are not feeling like yourself," she says. She gets up from her chair and moves to Snoon's side. Snoon initially flinches when Uhura reaches for her, and Uhura pauses until Snoon freezes herself solid. Snoon's mind races with thoughts about running and trying to trust her simultaneously. She knew the Lieutenant was not dangerous, was not those men, but Snoon's body had not learned that lesson yet. When she realizes the Lieutenant was still patiently waiting, Snoon gives her a small nod to continue. Uhura slowly and gently reaches for the Vulcan's hair, running a gentle hand across her scalp and through her tangled raven locks as much as she could. 

      "Let me cut your hair. I can style it however you want. We can also order some robes for you to wear; something that feels more like home." It takes Snoon a moment to register what the Lieutenant is offering, and before Snoon could become overwhelmed with gratitude and anxiety, she nods again to give consent. Without another word, Uhura begins to rummage around the room, looking for the supplies she would need.


	8. A Glimpse into the Other Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NOTE (12/12): After much writing and re-writing, I am now ready to post this chapter! I wanted this chapter to take a look into the mindset and characters of the Canis Avengers a bit more closely- to give them some life and meaning beyond just being 'the bad guys'. I feel like they turned out to be some characters with some interesting depths. So, finally, enjoy!  
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: violence, plots of violence and death

There are many distant, forgotten areas of space that the light never touches. These dark patches hide away from the rest of the universe, and seem to collect the other things the universe has forgotten, or wants to keep hidden. An ensemble of space ships huddle in dock around a large warbird- grand and bright enough to almost be mistaken for a star, and bring a little light to this empty space. The dark patch of space surrounding the ship caused the inside to appear even darker, even more menacing. Even all the technology was shut down- no bright blinking lights to fill the large chamber- large computers and monitors dark with damage and inactivity. There were many scratches and holes and breaks all around the room, everything falling apart and in shambles in the silent room, now that the screaming and yelling had stopped.

A body was hunched over a broken and busted control panel, the sweat trailing down his skin shimmering with the light that radiates from under his golden skin. His long, yellow hair draped over his face and shoulders. The many officers lined at the bottom of his pedestal silently waited for him to make his next move, too afraid that anything they said would set him off all over again. Their reporting of their run-in with that Federation starship did not hit their leader well.

"We are changing our plans," the Solaran finally breaks the silence with a growl, glaring into the nothingness. "Now that the Federation has finally come back to us, simply protecting our boarders is no longer enough." His fist tightens, nails piercing his skin and his palms smudging orange blood on the lifeless control panel. Loathing flows through his entire being- running through his veins and filling his lungs- as he pictures the Federation, as he recalls those memories he could never forget, as he imagines this ‘Captain Kirk’. 

"This Captain you mentioned... he will be back, and he will bring reinforcements," he says, with certainty. The officers in line do not argue with him on this, not wanting to upset him again or go against his reason. "The Federation has always had a very fragile ego, and they will not be able to leave well enough alone. When they return we must destroy their battalion before they make it to our planets," he decides. 

"This our chance to really gain some leverage over there fleet, gain back power over the Federation. Do something larger to extract our revenge than just the slave cells. Maybe we will just find them first... in their own galaxy... make of show of destroying their precious ships, remind their galaxy of just what they have tried to hide away," he speaks in a dreamy tone, giving a gleeful chuckle as he imagines the wonderful scene of discord and death in his mind that caused his body to shiver in pleasure. 

A few voices from the line begin to cackle and gleefully chatter in agreement with their leader. Two tall blue men with dark, melancholy eyes look at each other, not daring to even speak their thoughts aloud to each other. Another red totem-like creature steps forward in distress, unable to stand and watch this insane plan unfold any longer.

"But sire... That is not what we had originally planned. Our technology is more defensive than offensive; we cannot begin to face them in an actual space battle. Starting a fruitless war when we need to be more worried of protecting our people from the galaxy's collapse, and from the Federation. Our people will be no better off if we go through with this; if we cannot protect them from the Federation. We must be logical with this, not just looking to run into this rashly and kill indiscriminately."

"These monsters lived by the same strategy when they visited our galaxy!" The captain screams out, crashing his fist down on the control panel, causing another dent. He hisses his words out, the horrendous images flashing across his eyes as he reminds them all. "They invaded our worlds and violated our lands and people. They do not play by morals or rules, just by their own desires. We must fight, and win, on their terms to end this battle once and for all."

"But, Captain, there is much more at stake here," the other Hai'sh'tu beside Hassarah joins in and attempts to sincerely plead with their leader. "Our worlds are being torn apart and destroyed. I think...they are right. Our galaxy is starting to collapse and Demarxus will be next. We could use their resources and help to- -"

"SILENCE!" The Solaran Captain screams, reaching into the holster around his robe and thrusting a hand behind him to shoot the officer in the chest. Without as much as a yelp in pain, the blue creature falls to the floor, lifeless by the time he hits the ground. All of the other officers standing around stay silent, stunned and too afraid to say anything with their captain like this. It was happening much more often these days, and they were always on edge trying to gauge where he was.

"We cannot trust these demons. Not after what they have done. When they return, we will show those Federation bastards that they cannot mess with us again. And that their foolishness for attempting to try again will cost them severely. Such as... putting them on the burning stakes again?" The Solaran actually chuckles in glee at the thought.

"Sir! That is a bit extreme! What if they are really here to help us? We could use the help right now, our people are dying!" Hassarah says with a panicked snap, horrified eyes unmoving from his brethren bleeding out on the floor. He did not want his kin’s important last words to be said in vein. He would make sure his captain heard them, loud and clear.

The Solaran captain snaps out his daze and opens his eyes, turning over his shoulder to glare at Hassarah down below. "Our people have been through much worse than death. Or have you forgotten? The way they enslaved entire villages of people, used and abused and tortured men, raped and beat our women and children? Or are you ok with letting all of your family and brothers be enslaved again? Just to keep their necks on their shoulders, to only have collars and chains placed around them?” the Solaran captain hisses in implication. “Our people should want to die before ever having to be in the power of the Federation again."

The Solaran captain stalks up to the edge of his pedestal, glaring down at Hassarah as he speaks. "I will not allow anyone to unfurl years of planning, of work. I will not allow anyone to deny us our deserved revenge! The Federation is the one to blame for everything our people have had to suffer, and they have gone too long without just consequences. But now... now, by my own hand, I will make sure they get theirs. So... Hassarah, are you in, or are you against me?" he asks, venom dripping from each word as he stands above the Hai'sh'tu to glare down at him. The look alone sent jolts of fear through Hassarah, and he turns to look away as he speaks, or else the guilt would choke him.

"You know I am, Dius," Hassarah mumbles dejectedly. The Solaran continues to glare down at him for another moment, gauging his sincerity and allegiance, before he seems pacified enough.

"Good,” he finally whispers to Hassarah, a heartbroken look crossing his face as he speaks. “You are important to me, to this mission, Hassarah. It is your duty to fulfill this calling, and I will not see you waste it based on misguided ideals.

"Now that Celeste has been destroyed we must make sure their loss will not be in vain. The Andaran was right, attacking them on their domain would be too risky," he says, motioning to the dead body on the floor. "However, the Andaran and the Federation doubt our abilities. Those ships have only seen our canon, they have not yet been privileged enough to see our sub-space teleportation pods. But once they return, we will make them sorry that they ever decided to,” he smiles menacingly as he conducts the plan. 

“Gather the fleet!” he yells out the order, and the men begin to move instantly. “Tell your infantry teams to ready themselves for battle. Once Captain Kirk returns with his men we shall attack; gain the upper hand first thing, before they know what hit them. Oh, it will be wonderful to see… the shock and fear that will surely strike their hearts as they beg for their lives,” Dius swoons as he imagines it for himself. “We will make them pay. And then, the Federation will be next.”

Hassarah hurriedly leaves the room, becoming anxious and dreading the upcoming battle as his captain loudly cackles to himself behind him. He does not even attempt to take his brethren’s body with him as he leaves.


	9. It's All About Moving Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the limited information the Enterprise crew has to go on, they begin planning with the teams sent from Starfleet on what will come next with the Canis Avengers and Canis Galaxy.  
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: minimal, just a few mentions of the past battle with the Canis Avengers and Canis sex cell

      Starbase 87 was not a large base. It was mostly run by Federation-allied, distant lifeforms since it was so far out into the galaxy. And because of its lonesome station in the galaxy it was equipped with many advanced facilities and technology. It was the perfect location to dock at for quick and efficient repairs, like the Enterprise needed. The duct tape and gum wasn't going to hold any longer. Kirk was guaranteed the Enterprise would have the rest of its repairs done by a week's time.

      "Your chief engineer is practically a magician. To be able to do these repairs to the engines after that battle, and with limited power and resources..." the chief engineer of the station- a massive blue man- remarks as he looks over the damage reports on his PADD.

      "Yeah, he's our mad scientist. Speaking of which... here's a heads up on the new upgrades to the ship he wants to make while it is being repaired. And he says he will not need to borrow any of your men to do them; our crew can just work with yours to get them done along with the repairs," Jim conveys the Scotsman's message as he hands the engineer the blueprint disk. The engineer just dumbfoundedly takes it and turns to head back to work without another word.

      The base was all sleek, sturdy titanium walls and floors. Besides a few doors leading to personal quarters and storage rooms, and a few hallway openings, the halls were practically bare. Jim had heard the base had an impressive and large observatory on the top deck with the labs, but the only area he had any time to visit so far were the gym and the commissary. Most of the crew was gathered there enjoying a small get-together, and some freshly cooked meals.

      When Kirk rounds the corner to where he believes was the way back towards the commissary, he sees his First Officer walking right towards him.

      "Spock!" he calls in greeting, walking quickly to close the distance between them.

      "Jim, I was just looking for you," he says fondly. "I just received notice that the starships that will join us on our mission to the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy have docked. The Captain's from each of the vessels are setting a meeting in common room 3. They are waiting to meet you, when you are ready," he explains.

      "Excellent! Come with me; I want you in the room with me as we start to plan the mission back to the Canis Galaxy," Jim says as he begins to walk down the hall towards the common room, with Spock's direction. Spock follows him step-for-step as they make their way through the base.

      "We will need to brief the Captains on our findings with the galaxy and our encounter with the Canis Avengers. Plus, there are many dangers they must be warned about before our next encounter with their ship," Spock explains his thoughts with Kirk. Jim nods in agreement.

      "Scotty is working with the base's engineers to make some alterations to our generators, to protect them better against the goo's affects. We will let the Captains know to have their Chief Engineers reach out to Scotty to program the same updates to their systems as well, so everyone is protected," Jim shoots back at him, receiving his own nod in affirmation just as they reach the door to the common room.

      With their plan set into motion they enter together, Jim lighting up when he sees three figures dressed in command gold and two in red and blue seated around the large conference table. He is just about to say something in introduction when one of the Captains rises from his seat and makes his way over to Jim. A broad-shouldered, dark-featured man towered above Kirk as he closed in, suave demeanor and smirk already plastered on his face. "Pleasure to meet you, Captain Kirk. I am Captain Francis Drake of the USS Pelican," he introduces himself, extending a hand to take Kirk's in a firm shake. "My first mate, Commander John Hawkins," he says as he gestures to the man in red still seated at the table. The man gives a nod of his head in greeting as Kirk notices another man approaching.

      "I am Captain Oban Adebayo, of the USS Igbo," the Captain- dark skin laced with tribal tattoos underneath his golden shirt- approaches behind Captain Francis to reach out his hand to shake. "My first officer and my wife, Ifede," he introduces the officer at his side, and he reaches out to give Jim a firm handshake and a warm smile. Ifede then approaches Spock, and with a knowing smile she offers him the Vulcan salute.

      Behind Ifede, a petite woman approaches and offers her hand to Kirk as well. Her head was covered by a hijab and skin beautifully dusky like the sands of her homeland. "Captain Sakina Ahmad, USS Farishta, sir," she introduces herself.

      "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I am relieved you are here," he admits, looking around at all the faces surrounding him, here with him. He sees Spock looking right back at him, and he gives a small nod in acknowledgement of his feelings. Jim felt his confidence shoot up instantly. "So, let's get started on this briefing," he prompts, moving to the front of the room while everyone else falls into his lead and takes a seat.

      "My first officer and science officer, Lieutenant Commander Spock, reported the discovery of the destruction of Celesious in Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy on Stardate 24.7.63. We immediately went en route to the galaxy once we discovered another planet in the system, Demarxus, is in danger of being consumed by a local star on 18.9.63 and destroying 1.2 billion lives, or more. Upon arriving and crossing the boundaries between galaxies on 30.7.63, the Enterprise was attacked by a large warbird, called the 'Adhara'. Their main weapon was an energy absorbent plasma that depleted multiple power resources, and they also had a laser weapon that was able to propel us back in space, back to the Milky Way Galaxy."

      "Why did they attack at your ship when you entered the galaxy? Do they not want contact with outsiders, or not want our assistance?" Captain Ahmad asks.

      Jim balls his fists up on the table. "They didn't give us an exact answer to that question. The Captain of the Adhara spouted off something about how the Federation has a past of harming and destroying their kind, a past the Federation is trying to keep secret from those who are a part of it. We were only sent back by the Canis Avengers, or so we have dubbed them here on the Enterprise," Jim gives a quirky side look to Spock at that part, " to report back to the Federation about our meeting with them and what they shared with us. I believe they want us to uncover this 'secret' ourselves, to expose and warn the people of the Federation of its misdeeds. As for what this secret could be or their intentions with the Federation beyond that, we have no clue." Everyone becomes uncomfortably and skeptically silent as they each try to process this information and what it could mean.

      "And we have no clues or indicators of what this horrible misdeed that we performed towards this galaxy was?" Drake's first officer chimes in.

      "No matter where we have looked in the archives, we have no records of any communication or contact with this galaxy in the first place," Jim says dejectedly. Captain Drake gives an unrestrained snort at this answer.

      "So... this galaxy that the Federation has never had recorded contact with before claims we have done something horrible to them, won't explain what it was, and then holds a violent grudge against us for it?" Captain Drake asks, skepticism apparent in his tone. "Why should we believe a word they say? None of this is making logical sense." Spock quirks an amused brow at that statement.

      "I must share in Captain Drake's skepticism," Captain Ahmad jumps right in with her interpretations. "Without any offerings of answers or intent of communicating with us outside of threats and violence, we cannot trust any intention they have. They seems to have no desire to allow us near enough to help them or come to peaceful negotiation terms with us, only to overpower or destroy us. That much is clear from how they kidnapped and enslaved many races of the Federation and attack your ship, Captain Kirk."

      Jim just silently reflects on both of their statements at the head of the table. "Without any answers, I am having a hard time believing them. But, without any answers I am having a hard time not being curious as to what is wrong with this picture, what is missing. I want to find that out, and find out how to appease the Canis Avengers to avoid any loss of life, on our end and their own. They are in trouble, I can't ignore that. I also can't ignore the trouble this mystery is causing, for us, for them, for any party involved."

      "What about the prisoners you rescued from their camp? How are they?" Ifede asks.

      Orbo jumps on her trail of questioning to prompt for more. "What have they been able to tell you about these Canis Avengers?" Jim shoots Spock a look, passing the metaphorical talking stick to him to answer this question. Spock leans forward in his seat as he begins to explain.

      "The survivors of the cell are all recovering from their injuries and traumas, we expect no more loss of life. One of the survivors, in particular, is someone from my home world, named Snoon. She is one of our main sources of information about the cultures and backgrounds of these beings, and has been able to inform us of a particular Canis race called the Solarans. They are the most ancient civilization in this galaxy, the main force behind this vendetta and the Canis cell, according to her."

      "And how did she obtain this knowledge?" Commander Hawkins asks pointedly.

      "By being a prisoner of their cells for 8.12 years," Spock answers his question, pointedly. Jim shoots a reassuring glance at Spock, which seems to help ground and calm him as he leans back in his seat.

      Captain Drake seems to ponder on all of this before he speaks. "It makes sense why the admirals would be wary about going back. I mean, other-worlders we have never come across before just start shooting us up and claiming to want to see the demise of our republic. They kidnap and enslave our allies," the Captain explains, and much to the disheartening of everyone in the room, they knew he was right. He takes a deep breath in. "But, it is also apparent that it is just this one radical group that is a threat. We can find a way to diffuse the situation with the Canis Avengers enough to protect our people and help save the lives of those on Demarxus, and the rest of their planets when the time comes."

      Jim perks up at this. "What kind of plan did you have in mind, Captain?" Jim asks, leaning in closer in interest. Drake just gives him a wide smirk in response.


	10. Who's Causing the Real Trouble?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirk and the Bridge crew hear from the Fleet Admirals in regards to the planned mission back to the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy. Kirk feels unsure of what is really going on, and what can be done to make sense of what has been placed in his lap.  
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: mentions of Canis slave cell, symptoms of PTSD

      Starbase 87 was not a large base. Because of the base's distant location in proxy to any Federation planets, the base was very short-staffed. If any ships were to dock, it was mainly for repairs and other come-and-go reasons. The only people who would be on the station would be the crew, and the families of the survivors. It would be a happy, joyous occasion for so many; a relief and a light finally emerging in these dark times. For Snoon? She just tried to remind herself to be grateful to Ambassador Sarek for sending transportation for her back to New Vulcan, and that it was illogical to wish for any more. The "more" she was wanting was beyond her reach anymore.

      Snoon could hear lively voices of doctors and released patients outside of her room as she moved about, organizing her things. Mainly gifts from the Captain and his senior crew, a few books given to her by Spock, and clothes and other personal toiletries from the replicators. Snoon allowed herself the bit of satisfaction that came with stripping off her hospital gown and pulling on the deep chocolate robe Nyota replicated for her. It was at least one step closer to home, and Snoon pulled it tightly against her skin in comfort.

      Leonard strides into the room, and immediately covers his eyes and blushing cheeks with both hands. "Woah! Sorry, excuse me there. I didn't know you were changing," he says to Snoon, turning himself in the opposite direction to afford her privacy. She hastily slides on the rest of the robe, making sure the collar is pulled up all the way on her neck.

      "It is alright, Doctor. You have examined my body before," she reminds him. It was illogical for him to act embarrassed over something he had seen before, and she reminded him of such to help alleviate his illogical embarrassment.

      "...it's in different context, though; it's more like peeping this way. And that just made it sound entirely worse," he groans and shakes his head in a nervous gesture. "Just ignore me and let me know when I can turn around."

      "Do you have remaining business with me?" she asks for clarification. Snoon pauses when he remains silent. "And you may turn around, Doctor." On this cue he turns, giving a delighted sigh when he sees her in her robes.

      "That looks... nice, on you. Are they traditional Vulcan robes?"

      "Do you mean 'traditional' as in ceremonial, or 'traditional' as in culturally specific clothing?" she asks him. The question throws him off, giving him a hesitant start to his reply.

      "Uh... the second option?"

      "These robes are neither. This is the best the replicator could create, and it will suffice." Leonard initial urge to groan at Vulcan's roundabout way of answering things is dampened by the depleted tone in her voice. He instead mutters something about being 'a doctor, not a fashion consultant', before letting it go and focusing on the 'doctor' part.

      "Well, I am here to do the last of your output physical before you are released to the base," he tells her, pulling up all of the information on his PADD to add to and motioning for Snoon to sit. When she takes the seat on the edge of the bed he runs a tricorder over her. "Since your readings have become stable and you are responding well to the supplement hypos we have been giving you, you will be released from Medbay and given your own private room to stay in while you are on the base. But, you will have to go to the Medbay on the base multiple times a day to receive your hypos and have your readings checked, am I understood?" Snoon nods in acknowledgement. The conversation seems to die there, both of them uncomfortably shifting around in the silence, until Leonard's concern gets the better of him.

      "Do you have someone who is going to come pick you up?" Leonard asks a little demurely, but just wanted to make sure she was settled to make it back to the colony alright.

      Snoon just stares at him, his words not making any sense to her. "...As I have three times the body mass index of most humanoid species, 'picking me up' would be quite hard to do."

      Leonard wasn't sure if her confusion was genuine lack of understanding of human vernacular or more like Spock's 'lack of understanding'. "No! I meant, is someone coming to get you and bring you to New Vulcan?" Snoon seems to uncharacteristically hesitate with answering this question.

      "Since my family perished in the destruction of Vulcan, Ambassador Sarek is sending transportation that will arrive in two days to bring me to the New Vulcan colony. He will meet me once I dock. I will be staying at one of his residences until I am fit to manage my own estate. I will re-establish my clan house on the new colony."

      "Ah, that's great to hear. What is your clan name?"

      "It would take you years to learn how to properly pronounce it."

      Before Leonard can comment the tricorder makes a noise in alarm at the readings it pulls up. He stares intensely at the readout on the tricorder, dropping it to hold Snoon's head in his hands to examine her face. She feels his concern through his touch, so she stops the impulse to flinch away from it.

      "Your heart rate is a little high, breathing shallow, and your pupils are dilated. Your adrenaline and cortisol levels are piked," he begins to say in concern, but calms when he notices her hand shaking and nods in understanding. "It's nothing dangerous, but enough to cause the physiological readings I am getting." He lets go of Snoon's face and pulls the chair up from behind him to sit in front of her. "Are you feeling anxious or nervous? Possibly about going to the new colony?"

      "Vulcan's do not get anxious," she informs him, not in a scoffing tone. "It is illogical to dwell on things that have not happened yet."

      "As long as you have a working autonomic nervous system, you get anxious. But that is just natural. I promise you have nothing to feel anxious about, (Y/V/N). And if you do start to feel anxious, just look around the room and find 5 things you see, four things you can hear, three you can smell, two you can touch and one you can taste. It's a grounding technique to get you back into reality and out of your nervous system. Or, if your anxious thoughts start to overwhelm you, just choose to think of a thought you would rather think about... something more logical. Like, numbers, or elements in the universe. Or Anthropology," he even suggests, bringing up a known passion of hers. She perks up at that suggestion.

      "That is... a useful technique. Thank you, Doctor, for the advice." Leonard just flashes her a quick small smile and then gets up from his seat.

      "Another good remedy is exercise, like a relaxing stroll. Come. Let's go take a walk around the Enterprise. You still haven't really seen any of the ship, and you still need a walk for today."

* * *

 

 

      As a special treat and a final hurrah for her last day on the Enterprise, the Doctor offers to take Snoon up to the Bridge. The turbolift slides open and Leonard moves to hold the doors open for her as she makes her way through them. Spock, immediately sensing Snoon's presence once she steps onto the Bridge, leaves Kirk's side at the Captain's chair to walk over and check on her. It was the first time he had seen her dressed in robes instead of a hospital gown. That, combined with how Nyota had cut her hair back to how she used to wear it back on Vulcan, gave Spock a pleasant, nostalgic feeling. The first he had in a while.

      "Snoon, you are well enough to walk this far from MedBay? How are you feeling?" Spock asks in concern.

      "Yes, Spock, I am feeling well. The walk is strenuous but it is important for my recovery to keep active."

      "Right. But you let me know the minute you start to get tired and I'll take you back to Medbay to rest, ok?" Leonard chimes in with a lecture and a pointed finger.

      "I have more awareness and control over my body than you. It is my say, not yours, Doctor," she tells him with a hint of animosity. Leonard and Spock both blink in astonishment at her tone.

      "Well, I guess we can just shoot my medical degree out the airlock then!" Leonard snaps in exacerbation. He groans and rubs his face.

      Logically, he knew why you were acting this way- psychologically you were searching to regain control over your life and autonomy, after a trauma that had you feeling helpless and a victim to other's will. And this was you trying to do so by control over your health and recovery. However, the superiority complex was always a touch unique to the Vulcan's. Always a good trigger for headaches.

      "You brought her to the bridge?" Jim asks with a warm smile when he approaches the group, standing at Leonard's side. Snoon looks down at the floor as he approaches.

      "Well, she has been going farther on her walks every day, and I needed to come up here anyway, so I thought this would be a good goal for her today. I needed your signature on a few documents. Mostly release forms for the patients heading to the base today," he says, handing over his PADD to the Captain. Jim takes it and immediately starts looking over the paperwork, signing eagerly.

      "Captain Kirk, it is a pleasure to see you again," Snoon jumps in suddenly- realistically when she gains courage to speak up- greeting him with a polite nod. He seems momentarily surprised by her outburst, but then smiles and nods back at her. Snoon had briefly met the Captain a few times: once when she had awoken and he was talking to many of the survivors, and once evening when he came to formally introduce himself and get to know her. He was pleasant enough; genuine and a very expressive human. Snoon understood why Spock was so drawn to him. "I believe it is past custom already, but may I have permission to come aboard and look around the bridge?" she asks.

      Kirk blinks in surprise and then chuckles. "Of course you can, Snoon. Welcome to the Bridge," he says with a grand sweep of his arm. "Please feel free to explore around, and take as much time as you want as well. You are very welcome up here."

      "Come, Snoon, I shall show you my work station first," Spock says, nearly showing a kind of excitement and pride as he leads her over to his station.

      Kirk silently watches Spock's back as he elaborates different things about his station to her, noticing how lively yet relaxed he acted around her. He could tell if Vulcan's allowed themselves to show their emotions, the both of them would be beaming at each other in excitement right now. Kirk looks over and notices the contemplative face on his friend, and just shakes his head with a secret smile and heads back to his chair with the PADD in hand.

      McCoy even had taken a moment to watch the two together: to take in Spock's uncharacteristically cheery demeanor, McCoy thought the man would practically start doing cartwheels to show off to her. He also watched Snoon, observing her behavior; noticing how calm she was around Spock, and even Uhura when they approached her station. But he noticed how Snoon clambered up and shut herself down around the other crew members- especially the men. As awkward as it was to see chipper Vulcans, he hated even more to see her so wounded like that.

      "Here Bones, your PADD back," Jim announces as he pushes against Bones with the PADD. Bones wordlessly takes it back, and Jim joins in his Vulcan-watching, a pastime he considered himself a pro at by now.

      "She is going to be ok, you know? She is already beginning to heal, and once she is back on New Vulcan, amongst her people, she will feel safe enough to start recovering and moving on with her life. She has the chance to do so now, when she probably never thought she would. Plus, she knows she has many people in her life that care about her," Jim says as he looks knowingly at Bones. Bones catches his gaze and looks away, flustered. Jim claps him on the shoulder. "You did a great job, Doctor. Always going above and beyond the call of duty for those in your care."

      "Yeah, well... that seems to be the only way to keep people at baseline functioning on this ship," he says with a pointed glance to Jim, to which he gives a sheepish shrug off.

      "Excuse me, Captain," Uhura calls out to Jim, holding her earpiece against her ear and rushing back over to her station from where she was at with Spock and Snoon. "We have an incoming transmission from Starfleet, requesting immediate acknowledgement," she says, accepting the request on her station and putting it on hold until the Captain was ready.

      "Put it up on the screen," Jim calls, making his way past the navigation console to stand in front of the view screen.

      "Connection patched through," Uhura announces, just as the stern face of Fleet Admiral Nogura appears. Stomachs collectively drop across the Bridge, in preparation and knowing that a call from Nogura never brought good news. Beside him, the Counsel- consisting of 3 other Fleet Admirals- sat, all immediately giving off an unimpressed vibe. Spock heads up to the front to join his Captain, so McCoy comes over to Snoon to quietly usher her off the bridge. But she adamantly refuses, fighting his grasp to stay where she was, and so the both of them stay in the back to silently watch.

      "Fleet Admirals, what can we do for you today?" Kirk clears his throat and asks.

      "Kirk, we are calling in regards to the upcoming mission to the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy," Nogura says, his wrinkled face weighed down into a permanent frown. Kirk tries to look past this and keep himself hopeful.

      "Oh good, I am happy to see the mission orders are coming in so quickly. The station's engineers and Mr. Scott, my chief engineer, approximate the Enterprise will be finished with her repairs in 5 days. When do we have our orders to leave with the Fleet to the Galaxy?"

     "Kirk, your orders are to complete your repairs to the Enterprise and return to the Lylat system to continue mapping, just as you were before."

      Kirk holds back his initial knee-jerk reaction of shock then anger. He settles for confusion to convey his lack of understanding at the orders instead. "You're taking my crew off this mission? Why?"

      "'Why'?" The admiral simply scoffs. "We read Admiral Bennett's report. We know you intentionally withheld information to get your way, and we are honestly not surprised you would pull a stunt like that. Why would we take you or any of your men for your word, trust you after the stunts you have already pulled? Why would we believe you to be able to handle a mission of this caliber?"

      "Because the crew of the Enterprise are the ones that discovered this threat," Snoon speaks her mind without hesitation, outrage fueling her bravery as she steps up from the back. It was only logical in this case to communicate clearly to the admiral how ridiculous he was being. Snoon feels the Doctor reach for her sleeve to stop her but she brushes him off, making her way to in front of the screen as she continues speaking. "Because Captain Kirk and his team are the only reason I, and many others like me, are alive. And safe."

      "You...are one of the survivors of the slave cell," an admiral next to Nogura nearly gasps.

      "Snoon, sir," she politely bows her head.

      "As grateful you, and we, are to the Captain for making the rescue mission, we cannot condone the way he has handled this situation up to this point. These creatures have proven to be quite hostile and we must cut off any interaction or contact between them and our Federation."

      "You're going to stop the mission entirely?"

      "No Kirk. The mission to the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy will still happen. You will just not be a part of the infantry team."

      "...'Infantry team'? Wait, wait. This is not going to be a rescue mission?"

      "No. The fleet admirals have decided that these heathens are too dangerous to risk any more of our men's lives on, and must be taken care of now. They pose an immediate threat to the Federation and that threat, above all else, must be eliminated. We will be sending the other ships docked at Starbase 87 to deal with these 'Canis Avengers', and for the rest, well... we will not be intervening on the natural order of the galaxy's collapse."

      The entire Bridge goes deathly silent, and the air becomes weighted down with everyone's rage, all at once. Kirk's voice practically shakes as he speaks. "How can your admirals condone such a thing? What about negotiations? Listening to their reasons for hating the Federation? Trying to come to peaceful terms before sentencing them to death?"

      "They have shown they do not wish for peace, they only wish to see the demise of our ways, and we will not negotiate those ways with terrorists."

      "You can't possibly know that, without trying to trying to understand their reasons first. Yes, maybe their reasons could be completely unreasonable, and maybe we cannot settle their hatred against us, but we have to at least try before completely writing them off. And besides the Avengers, what about the billions of other innocent lives in that galaxy that are in danger? Lives that we have nothing to do with this mess, lives that we can help and save!" Kirk is shouting now, and no one makes any move to calm him, fearing if they spoke it would only be worse than how he was handling the outrage they were all feeling.

      "You cannot guarantee this. These terrorists are organized, with abundant resources and advanced weaponry. We do not know that these worlds are not as dangerous and hateful as the terrorists they allow to represent them."

      "Then how does this decision make us any different from them?" Snoon spits. Her blood practically boiled at the thought of being forced down to the level of those bastards because of the ignorance of these bastards. "Seeing them as nothing more than a danger and something that must be eradicated?"

      "We are not like them," Nogura spits back, venomously. "This is not the same hateful violence they are showing. We are doing this for the sake of protecting the lives of many innocent worlds."

      "Without even attempting to explore other options first!" Kirk interjects. "Then it is just reckless killing!"

      "Ms. Snoon, you above everyone else here must understand how dangerous and violent these beings are," one admiral leans in and tries to compromise.

      "I do indeed, so you cannot dare to speak for me," Snoon says with an audible growl. The Admiral's eyes go nervously wide at her tone, and away from her view so do Spock's. "However, the actions of a few men do not reflect nor dictate the beliefs of all others in their kind."

      "That's just it: we do not know for certain if that is the case with these beings or not. And it is too much of a risk in the administration's eyes to find out. These men are dangerous. This situation must be dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible. And the Enterprise will not interfere with these plans, or else the consequences will lie on your shoulders," he says with a pointed glare down his nose at the entire bridge. The other admirals beside him gave their own haughty glares or avoided the returned glares of the bridge crew all together. Nogura gives one final glare at them all as he dismisses, "Nogura out.", and the screen goes black.

      Everyone on the Bridge remains deathly silent until they all explode at once in their cries of outrage.

      "Captain! That is ridiculous!" Sulu starts off.

      "How can they seriously be condoning this?" Uhura curses.

      "Have they lost their minds?"

      "How can they just give us the boot like that?"

      "What is wrong with them? How can they be so cruel and ignorant to living beings? And they are supposed to be our leaders?"

      "Jim, this is ludicrous! They've finally gone off their rockers," McCoy tells him, now at Jim's side along with Snoon and Spock.

      "Captain, we cannot allow them to go through with this," Spock starts in as well.

      "Everyone, stop!" the Captain shouts his order, and the bridge is instantly silent again. Jim takes a mindful moment to calm his rushing thoughts and feelings enough to turn to Snoon with concerned eyes. "Snoon, you do have the most experience with these beings. What do you think?" Jim asks for her opinion.

      Snoon could tell by the look in his eyes he was becoming desperate, needing some sort of comfort or clarity from her. But she did not know how to provide it to him while still telling him the truth. Snoon nervously hesitates before she gives her answer. "These beings are out for blood, Captain Kirk- Federation blood. Their hatred is fierce and consuming, and I fear to think of what lengths it would take to satisfy their rage, if any," she says honestly, avoiding eye contact as she speaks.

      The bridge grows heavy at her words, the situation settling in even heavier now. She finally looks up at Jim's face, seeing the pained expression in his eyes- for her, for his people, and their people. For everyone pulled into this mess. "But," Snoon starts off anew, "I fear more the danger they are putting their own people in because of their ignorance. They must be stopped."

      Jim seems to come around again at her words, a fire beginning to spark in his eyes. "Yes, yes. You are completely right. Ok. Spock, after shift we need to come up with a plan to convince the Admirals to see what we need to be doing instead of starting a war with these guys. I think we should also get the other captains to rally with us; strength in numbers might be what we need right now. For now, let's go fill in Scotty on what is going on and check on our engines. Mr. Sulu, you have the conn!" Jim shouts behind him as he rushes towards the turbolift, Spock right on his heel.

      "Ok, I think that's enough drama for one day, Snoon. Let's get out of here before we're roped into more crazy shenanigans," McCoy whispers to her, using a hand to usher Snoon towards the turbolift without touching her.

      "I believe it best that I continue to help Captain Kirk and Commander Spock with planning how to convince your Fleet Admirals to change their minds, and how to deal with the Canis Avengers as well," she tells McCoy, turning to face him and stop in her tracks towards the turbolift. He could tell by the stubborn look in her eyes she would not budge on this decision, and he gave a sigh.

      "Indeed, your insight is invaluable, Snoon. We wouldn't have been able to come this far without you. But your health and rest is most important right now, you need to recover. We'll still be docked on the Starbase for a few more days, so Jim will be able to come to the base or call you on a PADD for your input. Don't push yourself." He gestures towards the turbolift again, to which she hesitates for a moment before heading towards with Leonard, and he pushes the call button. They enter the turbolift together, wordlessly riding it down until Leonard dares to speak up.

      "So, uh, what you said back there... What lengths do you imagine these guys will go to for their vengeance?" Leonard asks. Snoon drops her head.

      "I have witnessed firsthand how much they wish to bring the beings of the Federation pain and suffering. I do not know how much farther they plan or wish to go with their vengeance," she explains to him from her steady gaze at the floor.

      "You don't believe that these avengers can be reasoned with?" Leonard asks her, out of worry.

      "I am unable to say conclusively that it cannot be done. However, some men consumed by hatred and violence like them do not wish to be reasoned with. I have seen the way these men act. The depth of their loathing for the Federation, and to what length they will go to bring harm to anyone and everything in it," she says, implicitly. "'...but when their wrath is once kindled it burns like a consuming flame'." Snoon turns and looks up at Leonard. "They will not stop until they see the Federation burn just as bright."


	11. When Silence is Not the Answer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth always comes out, even in the most unexpected of ways. Even if we don't want to hear it or believe it, it always comes back to us. This chapter is exactly that, and Kirk is definitely in shock and hurt by this particular truth. Also, that bond that I mentioned Snoon and Leonard forming? Yeah, that starts now.  
> Rating: M  
> Warnings: descriptions of violence, mass murder, genocide, tyranny, hints of past non-con, medical tw, feral characters

      Jim gave his rage a day to settle down before he decided to reach out to the other captains. He needed to find out if the admirals had spoken to the other captain's already about the mission changes, and what exactly was said. And he needed their help to come up with a rally plan to get them all out of this mess. He had every right to feel as angry as he did- for the way the Admiral's dismissed the integrity of his crew and decided to completely ignore the danger the galaxy was in, the danger they were putting that galaxy in. But he knew he needed to take a page from Spock and be able to clear his mind and handle this logically.

      Because honestly, right now, he felt so lost. He had no idea what could be done to change the fleet admiral's minds and how to go about getting the mission back on track. Where did this get so mixed up, changing from helping these lifeforms in danger to labeling them all as the danger? His number one priority now was to do whatever he needed to do to get the Admirals to change their minds. His ego was not prided on having to be the one to lead the mission either- he just wanted to see the rescue mission happen and for the lives to be saved.

      He and Spock had stayed together for hours in his room after the Admiral's call, discussing and brainstorming what they could, but when it came to a dead end for them they just sat in heartbreaking silence for a long time. Once Spock left to escort Snoon to her new quarters on the base and say their goodbyes, Jim had tried to get some sleep. But, his mind had other plans for him: to stay up and obsess about all the different ways this mission would go wrong and do so much more harm than good. He was born on the principal of saving lives; the universe could not be any clearer than that. It was in his bones, and the ache of wanting to save these beings but having his hands tied by Starfleet tore him up inside.

      Giving up on sleep- and being able to think about anything else through his day- he immerses his energy in productive things, like research and studying. He goes over the databanks again, reaches out to a few contacts on Vulcan he was introduced to through Elder Spock to ask about their studies of the Canis Galaxy. He rubs his temples as both avenues turn up with limited answers and even more questions for him. The computer screen in front of him continues to be blank, and he almost considers turning it off until an incoming call grabs his attention.

      Kirk answers it instantly, without even checking the caller ID. The rugged and dark features of Captain Francis Drake appear on the monitor. "Captain, excuse my interruption, but we need you to come over to the Pelican immediately," he says demurely. His tone was noticeably uncharacteristic for a man with such natural confidence.

      "Is everything alright?" Kirk asks him in concern.

      "We...have found a stowaway on board, and I think you need to hear what he has to say," Drake informs him. Jim's mind immediately goes on alert and starts racing with possibilities.

      "Is it someone from the Canis galaxy?" he asks, almost hopefully.

      "No. It's someone from Starfleet. An Admiral. But, he claims to have more insight for us about why the Canis Avengers have such a vendetta against us. I want you to come over and listen to what he's got to say." Now Jim was unsettlingly curious. _Why would an admiral need to sneak onboard a Federation starship? And how did he have information on the Canis Galaxy, and what exactly was it?_

      "I'm heading right over," he tells Drake, ending the call and immediately walking out of his quarters. As he makes his way down the Enterprise halls towards the turbolift, he flips open his communicator.

      "Spock here," comes the answer on the other end.

      "Spock, Kirk here. I am heading over to the Pelican right now; Captain Drake found a stow away on his ship from Starfleet that he wants me to interview. He may have information for us on the Canis Galaxy," he tells him.

      "I will meet you in the transporter room in 3.2 minutes," he says resolutely.

      "No, Spock, it's alright. It does not sound dangerous. Drake says this admiral has important insights about the situation with the Canis Galaxy. But I am leaving the ship in your hands until I return. I will let you know when I get back and we can go over all the details then. Let me know if you hear anything from the other ships or Starfleet in the meantime," Kirk orders him.

      "Affirmative, Captain," Spock acknowledges and cuts off transmission.

      Kirk holds tightly to his comm in his hand, debating if he needed to reach out to anyone else about what was going on, but then opting out of it. No need to rile anyone else up, and no need to make this bigger than it was. Until he knew the facts, he didn't want to stress out anyone more than they already were. It would be as big as it would be without his influence, and with that piece of certainty he felt as though he could finally relax. The cards were out of his hand now, and he could finally relax. Quite a conundrum, but a refreshing change of pace. After all this worrying, after all this fear, he takes the moment in the turbolift just to breathe. To rest himself and prepare for the truth to finally come out.

      When the turbolift doors open on the engineering deck, Kirk strides out, walking lighter than he has for ages. He feels he can genuinely smile at crew members he walks past instead of forcing it for their sakes. He did not stop to make small talk with anyone, still needing to hurry to the transporter room, but he didn't feel like it was the only thing in the world at the moment. That he could also take a second to notice the faces and activities all around him again, and it felt good. Walking down the halls, he follows more of the sound of Gaelic singing than actually making his way directly to the transporter room.

      Kirk grabs onto the Scotsman's sleeve when he finds him, moving the chief to walk in line with him. "Scotty, I need you to transport me over to the Pelican, and to keep it under wraps from everyone else."

      Scotty immediately jumps into line with Kirk and into his line of questioning. "Secret rendezvous with our friend on the ship, Capt'n?"

      "No, but secret meeting with someone who has some information on the Canis galaxy for us. I'm hoping this man will have the answers we haven't been able to find anywhere else. So, until I have the official word, I do not want gossip flying around my ship and psyching everyone out. We all know gossip starts from the bowels of the ship and work its way up," Kirk jokes with Scotty with a smile. Scotty falls out of line with Kirk as he stares at his back incredulously.

      "Now why would â€˜ye go and accuse somethin' like that?" Scotty asks indignantly.

      "Because it's the truth. You run a department full of gossip hounds and you are their ring leader," Jim explains with a smirk.

      Scotty just scoffs. "Yeah, but sayin' the truth like that makes me look bad," Scotty grumbles. Jim just laughs and claps Scotty on the shoulder as they make their way into the transporter room. Scotty makes his way to the controls as Jim places himself on the transporter pad, locking onto the signal he could find from the Pelican.

      "Locked on with the Pelican's transporter room, Capt'n. They are ready to receive you. Ready to transport when you are," he says, looking up at Jim. "Will 'ye be alright over there, Capt'n?" Scotty asks him in concern.

      Jim shoots him a small but sincere smile. "It'll be alright, Scotty, promise. Energize," Jim orders. No sooner than in the next second Jim's body vanishes from the room in a sheen of bright, white energy, and Scotty is left alone.

      "Go get 'em, Capt'n," Scotty whispers as an afterthought.

 

      When Kirk phases into reality again, he sees a transporter room similar to his own- smaller and with more worn equipment- lined with many red shirts gawking at him. Captain Drake was standing right in front of the transporter pad, giving an excited smirk when his eyes meet Jim's. "Captain Kirk, glad you could make it," Drake welcomes him with an outstretch of hand. Jim takes it into his eagerly, giving a firm shake and a smile of his own.

      "Nice to see you again, Captain Drake. And thank you for reaching out to me about this," he conveys, albeit discreetly.

      "Of course," Captain Drake says, motioning Kirk with a nod of his head to follow him out of the transporter room. He continues to speak once they make their way into the halls. "You're the one who started this mission off for all of us, you should be the one to talk to this man," Drake cheers him on.

      Jim gives an unconscious soft smile at his words. "Yeah, thank you. But, please, be in the room with us. I want you to know what is going on as well so we can convene afterwards and come up with a plan to change the admirals mind about the infantry mission. This might give us the advantage we need to do that." Drake nods along with what Jim says.

      "Follow me then, I'll show you where we have him. I had my first officer move him from the brig to a conference room so we could have some privacy." Jim pauses minutely in his stride and turns to look incredulously up at Drake.

      "You put an Admiral in the brig?"

      "Well... he did sneak onto my ship," Drake comments cheekily. Jim still gawks at him even through his joke. "It was just until I found out he was an Admiral," Drake groans. "He's not even in uniform or wearing his accommodations, how should I be able to tell?"

      Jim concedes when he hears that piece of information. "How long did it take him to reveal he was an admiral?" Jim asks.

      "A while, actually. After some of my security officers found him hiding in cargo, they took him to the brig- where he refused to give any answers, or even speak. We couldn't figure out anything about him or how long he had been hiding down there. But when he heard your name, when I told him I couldn't keep playing games with him because of an important mission I needed to focus on for you, he came to life immediately. We couldn't stop him from talking. He told us everything we needed to know about him: about his history as an admiral and a Starfleet officer, about how he snuck onto my ship and went by unnoticed. I had to stop him and tell him to wait until you could get over here before he said too much about the Canis Galaxy without you. And... now we are here," he says with a gesture, stopping in front of a small sliding door.

      It was down a secluded hallway, in a secluded part of the ship, and the only door of its kind around. Completely secluded. Kirk's heart began to pound, in anticipation and anxiety of what he was about to be subjected to hearing. Would it give him the answers he needed? Would he want to know what happened? He hoped the answer to all of this was 'yes'. He reaches out and presses the button to open the door.

      In the small dark room- lit by old fashioned overhead bulbs- a tiny but rounded old man with snow white hair sat alone at a wood table. The old man was shrinking-in on himself, in height and body language. He was nearly hiding underneath the table and made no movement or signs on awareness when the two Captains entered the room. Jim takes notice off all of these factors, on top of the fact that an admiral was wearing civilian robes instead of his uniform, or any Starfleet issue clothing. It made Kirk nervous, unsure of how much he could trust this man and have faith in the information this fellow Starfleet officer had to share.

      Kirk pushes himself through it. "Hello," Kirk starts off. "I'm Captain James Kirk of the USS Enterprise." He reaches out his hand across the table to the man sitting there, who's eyes only rise to meet him a few moments after Kirk attempts to make the connection.

      "Admiral Thomas Keeton... Tom," the old man introduces himself in a murmur, gingerly grabbing Jim's hand in a tender shake. After he lets go, Jim pulls back the chair on his side of the table and sits down.

      "Captain Drake has looped me in on all the details: about how you snuck your way onto his ship, how you hid yourself from view. How once you were discovered and thrown into the brig only then you revealed your status and claimed to have important information to share about a top secret and undocumented mission." The Admiral seems to shrink even more as Jim talks, not in his tone of voice but the heaviness of the points that Kirk made. "You're a Starfleet Admiral, highly decorated and honored among your peers for your years of service and role in the foundation of our Federation. You will have to understand our confusion about your behavior. But," Kirk says, crouching down to the admiral's level to meet his eyes in sympathy, "I would like to hear what you have to say, if you will share what you need to say with us."

      The old man's face withers even more, in pain, as he chokes to control his emotions and force the words out. "It is...my fault, that the people of the Canis Galaxy hate us so much, want to see us suffer...as they did. As we caused them to suffer. As I was too weak and naïve to stop my crew from hurting those innocent beings."

      As the Admiral furiously wipes away at the large tears rolling down his face, Jim shoots a shocked glance back at Drake, who returns his confused and concerned look. Jim gets out of his seat and grabs a box of tissues he sees in the corner of the room. He returns back to his seat and hands the box over to the admiral, who hesitates before taking it and placing it into his lap. As the admiral rubs a tissue on his eyes and nose, Jim leans forward and rests his arms against the table. He waits until the admiral calms before he speaks.

      "You want to tell us the story now? That's why you came all the way out here?" Jim questions. The old man makes no gesture of acknowledgement. "Admiral... Tom," he corrects himself, "I could use your help. So, if you want to tell the story, if you want to help save their lives," Jim pleads with him, and the admiral looks up at him, "you can do it now. Please, do it now. What exactly happened, Admiral?"

      Jim sees the walls crumble away behind the admiral's sunken auburn eyes. The admiral takes a shaky breath in before he begins to speak. "I was just a young lad then... just made it to Ensign- graduated top of my class- when I was assigned to Captain Taylor and the USS Nina. It was my first real mission- our first mission as a ship- when we were setting up contact with developed worlds in the Perseus Arm. Our radars detected a gravitational anomaly where the galaxies are colliding in that sector, and we discovered a planet in danger of being pulled into a class M planet in our system with a massive gravitational field. Back then, our technology was not as efficient to send messages and communications to Starfleet as quickly as you can today, so to get permission to head to the galaxy would have taken weeks. Our Captain, a fearless and headstrong man, took charge and decided we had to go investigate it. Which the crew agreed to, and essentially was the right call.

      "We made it to the boundary between the galaxies in a month's time. With just enough time to spare to make it to the planet before it would be destroyed. It was a beautiful planet, an icy surface with pools and lakes of liquid water from the heat of the active core breaking through the surface. It was just a matter of time before this delicate, beautiful world would be caught in the violent gravity of another planet and pulled to its demise. The Captain beamed down with a large away team, and we were not greeted well. The inhabitants of this world were large, heavy blubber for skin to retain heat, tusks and claws made to break ice. First sight of our warm skin-tones and clothing and vastly different anatomy set the natives off very quickly.

      "They were fearful of us- being an unknown species and with advanced technology was something right out of an old 21st century science-fiction novel. Their technology had not even broken the advancements of the 19th century. They were hostile at first, trying to chase us off their world or kill us. We could not speak their language, they could not understand our intentions. All they knew was that they were afraid of us, that we had weapons and were unknown and dangerous. They acted within their right.

      "But my Captain, he didn't give up. He refused to be chased off, he refused to abandon them, and he refused to let them die on his watch. There was a moment... when a small boy from the planet that was a part of the hunting group wandered off while they were chasing us through the icy cliffs. This small child, almost fell from a small ice ledge, but my captain... he crossed through fire from the hunter's weapons to break this boy's fall. The ground below the cliff was cushioned with snow and with my Captain being a bigger man, they both walked away unscathed. And something... something in his action changed the minds of the natives. They stopped chasing us, stopped hunting us. We couldn't communicate with them but, they let us be there, around them and around their villages in peace. They began to relax and trust us.

      "The Captain immediately took advantage of that trust. He devised a plan to rally and take a group of them with the boy up into the Nina and bring them to the nearest habitable planet in their galaxy. We considered the possibility of bringing them back to our galaxy, but we thought it might help to stay in more familiar territory. Maybe they knew the other planets in their galaxy; we weren't sure, but we hoped.

      "The planet we brought them to, was an oasis planet. Tropical, oceans of blue, civilizations made of gold. There were more lifeforms on that planet as well, and as soon as they saw we brought some of their neighbors with us they relaxed at our arrival. All of them realized we had saved the ice-people's lives, that we were attempting to rescue them. My Captain brought one of the ice-planet people back to their planet with us, so that they could communicate to the rest of their people what we were doing.

      "And the plan worked; they finally began to trust us and followed our lead willingly. Load after load, trip after trip, we rescued and transported everyone on that planet and had it completely emptied by the time the planet was captured and destroyed. We had done it, we had saved all of their lives."

      Jim was amazed at all the work this ship had put into their rescue of the ice-creatures. Drake had even come in closer to listen in amazement to the story, sitting on the armrest of Kirk's chair. But then... what had caused the people of the Canis galaxy to turn from loving those officers to loathing the entire Federation so much?

      Just as Jim is about to ask the admiral about that, Tom catches onto his confusion and jumps ahead with the story to the part that no one wanted to hear. "A group of ancient lifeforms, called the Solarans, arrived at that paradise planet then." Jim's attention spiked at the mention of the name. He subconsciously leaned in closer to listen to the next part of the story. "They were... ethereal, from the moment we laid eyes on them. Powerful, all knowing, golden and bright, god-like.

      They knew who we were, they knew of our world, they knew our language. They had heard of what we had done for a member of their galaxy, the galaxy they ruled over. And because we had saved a race of their galaxy, we were trusted, and treated as heroes. And when my Captain promised to help them find a way to save their people from the galaxy's consumption, we were celebrated- they threw festivals, feasts, parties of grandeur for us. They shared with us many secrets of their worlds, their galaxy, of our universe. Wisdoms no man had ever been able to glance at before. Every single person felt powerful, we felt god-like because we had cheated death. It was a rush.

      "That's when the power started getting to some of their heads. They began to take everything that was offered and the things that were not offered to them. They took things they believed they deserved, things the galaxy owed them. They took advantage of the kindness hospitality the people of the planet offered to us, demanding things from them, and demanding more and more as time continued on. They... began to even see the inhabitants as their property, their lives belonging to the crew since they were only alive because of us.

      "My captain became the worst of them all. He didn't even try to hide what he was doing. He flaunted his actions, he was truly proud of the horrible things he would do to these people. And beyond even that, he began to challenge and take over the way the planet was run. He believed this was going to be his paradise, he would rule over these people and they would continue to worship him for all eternity. He saw himself amongst the gods, even higher than the Solarans. He felt he had complete control, and would threaten and harm anyone who would attempt to take that control from him. He didn't hide that part either.

      "On a particular gathering, the Solarans confronted my captain about his actions. Told him to leave and take his crew with him. My Captain refused, saying these creatures had no power over him or capability of overpowering him. He was the one with the technology, the weapons and the crew that could take them all down before they could take their next breath. He said he would do as he pleased, and that it would be wise for the people to keep him pleased.

      "One of the Solaran elders tried to attack him with a blade, restrain him, just put an end to the madness. But the Captain was able to restrain the elder from behind and held the knife to the elder's neck. He said he was the one in charge now, and that no man or God could take him down. He said if anyone disobeyed them or rebelled against him and his crew, he would take their loved ones aboard our ship in the middle of the night and leave them stranded on the next planet to be destroyed. And then he slashed the elder's throat."

      Jim and Drake both went ghastly white at the Admiral's confession. It was unimaginable- the way that captain and crew had acted towards these people, and the amount of suffering that crew put those men through. It made Jim sick to his stomach, he had to hold back his reflux. So many evils he had seen in the world around him, understanding that it was their choice to act this way. But he never imagined it lurking in the foundations of his own Federation.

      "This went on for a while. Weeks... months. At first, the captain updated his log with fake missions and updates to keep Starfleet off our trail, and then he just stopped sending messages all together. Let Starfleet believe we had been captured or killed or something else. He didn't need Earth or Starfleet anymore; he had his own empire now.

      "And for a long time, it stayed quiet. The captain had his way, the people obeyed and worshiped his every command and tended to his every need, tended to the need of his team. The Captain had his main circle of grunt officers to keep the citizens of the planet in line, and the Starfleet officers that opposed what we were doing. Some of us tried to stand up to what was happening, to condone and stop it, but the Captain... just disposed of them as well, added them to the body count. So many officers just stayed on the ship, kept their eyes and ears closed to what was happening.

      "But in the shadows, in the dark of the nights there was an uprising forming. It snaked through the halls of the palace and villages, whispers and plots of revolution. Until, one night, it came. As my captain slept, they snuck into his room and slit his throat. Removed his head from his body. His head officers and grunts came next, one by one. One of the officers- Lieutenant Davis, the lead pilot- was awake when the natives began to attack. He snuck around them to come and wake as many officers as he could, to get them to the ship before they were hunted. He woke me, and saved my life.

      "Lieutenant Davis rushed us all to the ship, hiding away from the hunters as the rest of the palace took the bodies they had found and threw them into a roaring fire. We only gave ourselves a moment to watch in horror before we had to get to the ship. We got into our ship and took off.

      "Out of shame for what we had done, and to keep the name of the newly-formed Federation clear, Lieutenant Davis- our new Captain- deleted the logs and any records of recordings and data collected from the Canis Galaxy. We erased our time with them from the computers, from our minds, and from existence. We left them to die."

      Kirk felt simultaneously overwhelmed and numbed by his emotions. He was in shock, actual shock. He could not believe anything he had heard, was appalled and astonished that such horrendous things occurred. He felt sick to his stomach, betrayed by his founding fathers and sick to his stomach for those innocent lives massacred. He felt enraged that anyone could have the gall to do such a horrible thing- to take advantage and abuse so many people in that way. He swallowed down his rage before he turned back his focus to Tom, who seemed to have a knowing twinkle in his eye. Like he completely knew and understood. 

      "Why come forward now, after all these years? After hiding this secret for so long?" Kirk asks, trying hard to hold back the heavy emotions that threatened to make his voice shake.

      "For so long I have lived with this regret, with knowing what I have caused and that there was nothing I could do to change it. But now, with coming across this galaxy again, and with the chance to help them instead of hurt them, I want to do the right thing this time around. Especially with how they see us now because of what we did to them in the past. I know it is all our fault, and I want to correct my mistake, so they can see the good in our Federation and be able to believe there are people out there who truly just want to help them."

* * *

 

 

      The MedBay was silent for what felt like the first time in forever. The patients from the Canis Attacks and the Canis slave cell were all discharged, and now the MedBay was back to treating standard appointments and minimal emergency visits. McCoy was taking the down-time to file away all the paperwork from the event into the system and sending out records to doctors and families requesting them. In between sending messages to doctors he slowly wrote out a message to Jo, trying to fill her in on all of the details of the mission that he was allowed to tell her. Which, honestly, was not much based on the sensitive situation surrounding this mission, but he at least wanted to tell her where he was now. It made him feel a bit more connected to her if she could look up into the sky and imagine where he was.

      He had just finally typed the last of the message to send to her when the MedBay receives a call from Uhura.

      "Doctor McCoy here, Uhura," he answers.

      "Doctor, I have an urgent call from the Starbase 87's MedBay. It's about Snoon. May I patch it through to you?" she asks, unable to hold back the concern in her tone.

      McCoy immediately readies his monitor. "Patch them through Uhura. I will talk to them," he tells her. In a blink of an eye, the image of the Starbase's head physician appears. He looked frantic, unable to cloak his worry, and even had a few cuts on his face.

      "Doctor! We need you to come to the base's Medbay as soon as possible! One of the transfers, 'Snoon', was discovered collapsed in her room this morning when a nurse went to fetch her for her checkup. We brought her to Medbay right away and attempted to stabilize her, but her pulse and adrenaline levels would not drop. Since then she has awoken, but she has been acting violent towards all my staff that try to approach her."

      McCoy was already rushing out of MedBay and down the halls of the Enterprise towards a turbo lift as the doctor spoke. "What is her current status?" he inquires.

      "Heart rate and blood pressure are both in the red, adrenaline levels are climbing. We called Lieutenant Commander Spock as soon as we found her unconscious since he is her emergency contact; he is in the waiting room. But as soon as she woke up and we realized the severity of her condition I knew we needed to call you. We could really use your help down here."

      McCoy cut off the com with, "I am on my way," just as the turbo lift doors close.


	12. The Truth Finds its Own Way Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wouldn't be the Enterprise without a little danger on board. Something is wrong with Snoon, and DOctor McCoy only hopes it is not too late to save her life.   
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: medical tw, feral character, lots of yelling and angry McCoy

      McCoy knew which room was yours when he arrived at the Starbase's Medbay because there were a lot of people gathered in front of it. The blinds in Snoon's observation window had already been drawn, but everyone was standing around to listen to the commotion coming from the room. McCoy could hear it halfway across the Medbay. There were growls and yells of many voices escaping her room, plus sounds of equipment dropping or being thrown around. Leonard was not sure. He pushes his way through the crowd, immediately finding Spock in front of the masses.

      "Doctor McCoy, please allow me to come with you into Snoon's room. The doctors on this base forced me out of the room once she had awoken and I am concerned about her condition," Spock entreats Leonard, standing in his way of the door but only to make sure Leonard hears him clearly. With an expression like that on the Vulcan's face, Leonard felt like he really didn't have a choice.

      "Ok Spock, that's fine. Maybe you can help us out in there with calming Snoon. Just don't get in the way!" McCoy says, grabbing Spock by the sleeve to usher them through the crowd. He pushes them both through the spectators and into the room, locking the door behind him.

      McCoy and Spock both needed to take pause once they entered the room and saw Snoon. She was strapped down to the bed with gravity bars, one hovering above her torso and another over her legs. Snoon's head, free from any restraint, swung from side to side in wild jerks, and she growled at anyone that attempted to approach. Both of their hearts sunk at the sight, and Spock could not move with the weight of his inner-turmoil **,** but McCoy shook off the spell a bit quicker.

      "Status update," McCoy announces as he walks to the bed, putting on a pair of gloves and instantly making way towards Snoon's side. She growls at his initial approach, but lowers it to a deep rumble once recognition flashes in her glossy eyes.

      "Same, Doctor McCoy. Her BP and heartrate are higher than charted for a Vulcan. Her adrenaline levels and cortisol read dangerously high and her body and mind are both showing side effects from it. We cannot locate a route cause for her symptoms and none of my nurses nor I am able to get close enough to do a thorough exam."

      Spock slowly approaches the side of her bed, coming in across from McCoy. He looks down at her, eyes wide in apprehension. Snoon's eyes lock on his momentarily, flashing messages to him that only he could see and understand through her haze.

      "Ok. Spock, I am going to need you to tell your father sorry, but she is not getting on the shuttle to New Vulcan. We need to get her started on IV fluids, plus beta blockers to help bring down her adrenaline levels and BP. Once she calms we can see if we can run some tests on her, but if not we will have to sedate her through the IV. Get the body scanner running so we can get a CT and full body scan to check her organs and adrenal glands, then we need to draw some blood and run tests on her adrenal and thyroid levels."

      "No," Spock cuts off McCoy with a sharp edge in his command, and the nurses flinch at their sides. "She must still get on her ship to New Vulcan."

      McCoy actually pauses in his ministrations, out of pure disbelief of what Spock was saying. "Are you out of your hobgoblin mind, Spock? She can't get on a shuttle now!"

      "She needs to be sent to New Vulcan as soon as possible. The Vulcan healers there will be able to help her more efficiently, as they are a member of her race and more familiar with her biology," Spock pushes.

      "We need to diagnose this and have her stabilized before she can be traveling through deep space!" McCoy yells back.

      "Your senseless poking a prodding will do you no good and only serve to waste valuable time. The only ones who can truly treat her are members of her own race on New Vulcan. Please respect our wishes," Spock argues.

      "I'm the Chief Medical Officer, it's my call!" McCoy snaps at him.

      "Actually, Doctor McCoy, since you released Snoon into the care of the ship she is no longer under your authority. And since the doctor of this station called me first for my advice on what to do, and serving as a power of attorney since she is unable to speak for herself, it is my call on how to handle her care. We are sending her to New Vulcan." He says decisively, effectively ending the conversation there. McCoy just looks at the Vulcan in aghast before he leans over the exam table to meet Spock's eyes in a lethal glare.

      "You get to sign her death warrant like this over my dead body, Spock." He turns and marches out of the room, throwing his gloves into a waste bin with a loud slam.

* * *

 

 

      Jim was nearly bumping straight into crew members as he attempted to quickly make his way through the Starbase halls. He had received many priority calls and messages from McCoy while he was dealing with the situation on the Pelican. After finishing the interview with the Admiral, he left the Pelican and rushed immediately over to the Enterprise MedBay to look for McCoy, finding an on-duty M'Benga instead and realizing both his CMO and First Officer had both been missing for nearly three hours. When he called down to the base's Medbay, the nurse on duty had told him McCoy and Spock were refusing to return to the Enterprise, having a stand-off and still arguing in one of the offices. It happened on a rarer occasion than most people probably thought but when those two truly went at it, it took an act of divine intervention to break them up.

      Somehow, he had to be the one to manage it today. Going in blind on what they could even be arguing this intensely about, he makes his way into the Starbase's MedBay and can immediately hear McCoy's yelling.

      "Jim! Talk some sense into your first officer! He is intentionally endangering his own friend's life with this ridiculous supremist delusion that she needs to be sent to New Vulcan instead of receiving treatment here." Jim shoots Spock an incredulous look before he can even say a word.

      "I am not endangering her, Doctor. You cannot comprehend, but I am saving her life this way; she must go back to New Vulcan to receive treatment," Spock stands by his argument.

      "Start explaining to me what it is exactly I cannot comprehend or else I am going to stick you on that shuttle to New Vulcan and fly you far away from Snoon."

      "That is completely unethical," Spock says in disgust.

      "You did the same thing three years ago to Jim!"

      "Spock! Bones! Stop!" Jim yells in his captain voice. Both of them instantly grow silent and he glances at both of them before he speaks again. "Now, Spock, why must Snoon go to New Vulcan? Why can't she be treated here?"

      "Because this is something beyond human medical comprehension." McCoy loudly groans and rolls his eyes in agitation.

      "Is now really the time to be insulting human intelligence, Spock? It's really simple, I promise you; she is sick, we can treat it."

      "It is far more complicated than that, Doctor. It is a matter of... Vulcan biology," Spock nearly mutters the words.

      Both Jim and Bones perk up at the new explanation. "The biology of Vulcans?" Jim clarifies. Spock just gives him a shallow nod in response. But Jim prompts him to continue on with his explanation. Spock took in a deep breath to cover his desire to sigh in defeat.

      "Snoon is going through Pon Farr- or the Vulcan mating cycle. It occurs for adult Vulcans every seven years, and it devests a Vulcan of all logic and control; all they seek is to mate. Vulcan's usually do not go through Pon Farr so early, and I did not assume Snoon to ever go through it, with her system being so malnourished for so long. But now that she is receiving nutrients her biology must have kicked in. In the heat of Pon Farr she must mate... or succumb to the Plak Tow- the blood fever- and die."

      The room goes deathly silent after Spock reveals the truth. Leonard breaks the heavy silence when he begins a sort of deep rumble in his chest and glares at the commanding officer with a genuine anger than he has never shown him before.

      "You knew what was wrong with her this entire time and you didn't tell us?" Leonard yells, poised over his desk as if he was ready to lunge for Spock.

      "Bones!" Jim yells when he senses the hostility and steps between them to buffer. "I'm sure Spock had a good reason not to tell us these details," he says, turning to his second in command with a sigh.

      "So, what now, Spock? Can't we do something here to help her? It could end up being too late if we try to send her all the way to New Vulcan, right?" Jim surmises, trying to reason with the Vulcan's logical side. "As crass as this might be, can't she just as easily mate with anyone here? We just have to find someone for her to mate with to end the..." Jim racks his brain for the words.

      "'Pon Farr', Captain," Spock steps in. "And it more complicated than just finding a sexual partner. She must find a bondmate and create a mental link with them as well as the physical consummation of the bond, and only she is able to sense whom is mentally compatible with her mind. There is nothing we can do to help with those conditions."

      "Is the bond permanent?" Jim asks.

      "Preferably, yes. Vulcan's typically mate for life. However, with the help of a Vulcan healer, a mental bond can be broken if both parties wish it."

      "Well, Spock, you're a Vulcan. Is it something you..." Leonard squeamishly hints at with a gesture of his hand.

      "I don't think that's a good idea Bones," Jim cuts in before Spock can speak. "I need Spock up on the Bridge with me when we come across the Canis Avengers again. And I don't think Uhura would be too pleased at her boyfriend getting bonded, even temporarily..."

      "The Captain is correct," Spock agrees.

      "Ok. Well what are our other options then?" McCoy grumbles. "Find some stranger on this base to set her up with? That could be dangerous, Spock!"

      "Not necessarily, Bones. There are a lot of Starfleet officers on this base. They would gain accommodations for assisting an endangered species of the Federation. She would also be protected under Starfleet laws in that case."

      "I believe that is the safest and fastest solution we have at the moment. It is logical, and Snoon would agree with that logic," Spock says on your behalf. Spock had no idea what Pon Farr was like, but if it was anything nearly as excruciating as the stories implied it to be, you would do anything necessary to end it. He just wanted to be sure of your safety through it.

      "Ok, then we have a solution! Find Snoon a temporary bondmate here on the base, watch over her recovery here, and then once it's over Starfleet can send them to New Vulcan to have the bond broken."

      "Yes, however it will take time for the bond to settle before it can be broken. The two will have to stay in close proximity to each other for a week after the Pon Farr dissipates, and then it can be broken," Spock explains to Jim and a dazed Leonard.

      McCoy walks over to your room, watching you struggle in your sleep through the observation window. "How will we know when she has found a compatible suitor?"

      Spock follows the doctor's gaze through the window as well. "She will not try to kill them." 


	13. My Mind to Your Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time is running out for Snoon. Her life now lies in the hands of the triumvirate.  
> Rating: M  
> Warnings: medical tw, death tw, feral character, mentions of trauma, mentions of slave cell, pon farr sex

      The next 48 hours were a disaster. The triumvirate brought in many suitors of all races and genders, and Snoon rejected them all by lunging at them to kill them as soon as they touched her skin. Snoon was feral at this point, hardly able to communicate clearly and stuck in two modes: dying or homicidal. McCoy could barely hold her back, and she was growing stronger in her struggles the deeper she went into Pon Farr. McCoy finally understood how much Vulcan's held their impulses and instincts back; to be completely forced to lose your mind and go feral to this degree was unnerving for even McCoy to see. Spock also grew more restless as the hours dragged on and he had to drag more and more suitors out of that room. They both could sense time was running out, just like their options.

      McCoy gently shuts the door to Snoon's room behind him as he leaves, like a parent would after they put a child to bed. Once the coast seems clear, no noise or growls emerge from her room, he makes his way over to the guest office the Starbase had given him to use. Everything in the MedBay was dark and quiet- from sleeping patients and less activity than he was used to on the Enterprise MedBay- which left no distractions for McCoy's anxious mind. It did not give him and Spock much to do except worry and hover over Snoon as much as possible. When he walks into his office he sees Spock back in his chair, the chair placed right in front of the desk.

      He talks to Spock, his partner in all of this madness, as he makes his way to the desk. "She is finally resting. I took another read of her levels. They are rising nearly every time we bring a candidate to her that she rejects. She is becoming more aggravated and hostile every time. And we are running out of Starfleet personnel to go through. We've even gone through a lot of the lower ranking officers on the Enterprise," McCoy reminds them blankly as he throws himself into his chair, scrolling through a list of people on his PADD and marking names off. He then attaches the updated list to a message to Jim and Uhura.

       "This is not going as well as we hypothesized it would. I am concerned with the fact that she has not been able to find a bondmate by now, and worry the Pon Farr is progressing too rapidly. Her body is already starting to degenerate," Spock says to McCoy **,** resting his chin behind his folded hands **,** finally showing his own worry and about his friend.

      "McCoy tries his best to analyze the situation and think of all the angles, the piece they are missing to save her life. "Spock, can the mental state of a Vulcan affect their ability to bond? Could her trauma be causing mental interference for her being able to attach herself to a mate? Or is it the reason she is acting this hostile towards the officers?"

      "Spock grows noticeably unnerved as he speaks, which even spoke to McCoy about how truly uncomfortable this time made Vulcans feel. "It would make sense if that is the case. Trauma does affect the neurochemistry and workings of the brain, it could be possible it has changed the ability of her brain to form a bond or how she reacts to others during her Pon Farr. However, as logical as Vulcans choose to be, there is a lot about Pon Farr that we have not researched or studied. I do not have a conclusive answer as to why she is not finding a mate," Spock attempts as an explanation **.**

      "So what? We just keep playing this game until she picks someone or dies? I don't like those odds right now at all, Spock."

      "It is either she is very selective with her bonds or will be unable to bond due to the amount of trauma. We cannot force the hand on this matter. She has to be the one to find and establish the bond herself. And so far, the statistical probability of her continuing to attempt to kill the candidates is much higher than actually finding a bondmate. I do not know what she requires to end this feral state."

      Leonard snorts as he nervously runs a hand through his hair. "I know. After you are able to drag the candidates away I am barely able to hold her back from going after them and calm her back down."

      Spock gives a thrown look at McCoy as the doctor stares at his PADD. "You are able to touch Snoon, Doctor?" Spock asks incredulously.

      McCoy snorts, not catching on. "Barely. But I am really only able to handle her once the suitors have left the room. It makes sense, though. Once the failed candidate leaves she is able to calm down again," he says, setting the PADD aside and leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. Spock almost hesitates to say what needs to be said, but the truth was the most logical and necessary course of action right now.

      "No Doctor, she does not become calm once the suitors have left. She becomes calm to your touch, the touch of a potential bondmate."

      McCoy visibly chokes as he throws himself forward in his seat but remains silent otherwise, refusing to move a muscle except to glare at Spock. When Spock gives him an unflappable look, McCoy loses it. "...no. No. No way in hell Spock! I am not letting some hobgoblin into my brain!"

      "If it is any consolation, Snoon is trained in shielding her mind from thoughts and emotions of others, and once the bond is settled she will be able to block the bond so your mind will remain private."

      "No that does not help, because it means she will still be in my mind!" he shouts, throwing himself up out of his chair to pace around. "That is way too invasive and a violation of my privacy. And trust me, I would not let anyone in there like that, it's not just about her."

      "It is about her, Leonard!" Spock says, nearly raising his voice as he stands as well. "It's about Snoon's life! We are running out of time! You are the only one we have come across that can soothe the Pon Farr, so I am afraid we have no other choices at this time. You must get over your discomforts to save her life," he says, stepping toe to toe and nose to nose with McCoy as he speaks. And then an openly crushed expression crossed his face as he looks at McCoy. "I am begging you. Please."

      The two men stand silently in the room for a long while, looking at each other with pained expressions on their faces. "Who do you think is the one who has been trying to save her life since day one?" Leonard hisses in his face and turns on his heel to stomp out of the room.

* * *

 

 

      The Medbay on Starbase 87 was eerily silent tonight, and Leonard could not shake the feeling of anxiety that constricted his body. Every time his eyes moved to glance across the bay towards Snoon's room his heartrate would spike, and nothing he could do could get rid of the nervous perspiration on his face and neck. Glancing back down to his patients charts on his starship on his PADD, he attempts to shake off the jitters flowing through to his fingertips. He thrums his hand against the desk. He reads the same section of the chart repeatedly on the PADD. His eyes wander back up to her bed. Dammit.

      He throws himself out of his chair and towards Snoon's room on an impulse, only slowing when his anxious thoughts catch back up with him and turn his feet to led. His heart pounds in his ears.  _What was he even thinking of doing? Was this really what you needed? Could he really do this? Did he have to do this? What if Spock was wrong? What if... what if Spock was right? And he really was the only one who could save you right now._

      His throat goes dry as he looks at her resting form, seeing the flushed and perspiring complexion of her warm skin, the way her arched brows were pulled down in anguish, jaw clenched even in her sleep. All these physical signs that he could observe showed him how much pain she was in, and the readings on her monitor only made his heart sink further. She was running out of time. Time, her biology, life was failing her. He couldn't fail her. He had to help her. Even if he didn't understand what was going on, even if he didn't understand her heritage, even if he didn't understand her... she had the right to live, the right to find joy in a future... a future he could help to give her.

 _How could he? How would he? Why would he? Should he?_ Yes, yes he should. Not only because he knew it was the right thing to do, the heroic thing to do, but the pulling feeling in his gut would never leave him alone if he didn't just take the plunge already. _Geronimo he goes_.

      Leonard steels his resolve and shuts his eyes tight as he reaches out to place his hand on her forehead, nearly screaming his intent through the touch. Snoon's eyes instantly flash open and she jumps up, curling herself away from him in the top corner of the bed as she stares at him, wide- eyed.

      "You cannot be serious," she accosts his thoughts through her panting.

      "I am. If it's what we need to do to save your life, then I am willing," he answers her demurely. Snoon growls at the sound his voice, at his words.

      "I will not take you as my bondmate because of some misguided notion of self- sacrifice to save my life," she growls, baring her teeth at him in rage. Once she realizes what she's done she reels herself back and try to control the shaking of her body. He releases a sigh and sits down on the side of the bed by her legs. She curls tighter into herself, away from him.

      "Look, it's true. I am not comfortable with this at all, it is not my first choice. Humans...typically need time to let down their walls, and this will let you see...everything, from the beginning. I am scared of that, because there's not much good in there to see. You're gonna be exposed to a lot of the most personal sides of me I try to hide. But, Snoon, I will not let you die. More than my Hippocratic oath, I am truly willing and wanting to do whatever it is I have to do to help you. And if this is it, at least for the time being..." he trails off, not really sure what else to say beyond that. He was scarred, that much was obvious. They both were uncomfortable with all of this.

      "Doctor-- Leonard," Snoon corrects herself, knowing already what was going to end up happening. Her body was harshly shaking now, unable to hold back her conflicting desire and fear. "I must express to you my own worries of you seeing what I carry inside of my mind.  There is a lot with me that you shall also be exposed to. Many, many horrendous things I would never wish upon anyone to know about. But with the bond I will not be able to keep these things back from you, and for that I am so sorry." 

      And that is when Leonard gets it. He would not be the only one exposed, left open and vulnerable and raw. Snoon would be right there with him, scars and baggage and all left open for him to see. He was so scared to be left so exposed in that way through the bond, but the bond would expose her just as much, whether they both liked it or not. There would be nothing, absolutely nothing, hidden between you two with this. And things were a lot less scary when they are seen.

      Everyone has things they wish they could forget- pains that end up leaving scars that you carry around wherever you go. And she was just a person, just like him, trying to find a way to move on from the horrible past. He could find solidarity in that.

      Leonard gently takes her hand from around her and places it into his, not grabbing it but simply resting it in his palm. 

      "Then let's just say sorry to each other now, and never have to apologize for it again." Snoon finally looks up at him with that, all of the longing and need apparent in her blue eyes. He pulls her in close, taking in the pleasant buzz that lit him up inside at the feel of her against him, and leaning down to consume her.

      Bodies move together in the dark, as if they had been dancing together for all of time. Knowing and following ancient drives and desires, giving into their darkest temptations and giving all of themselves to the other's whim. Letting go of all resistances, at least for tonight.

      A hand fumbles for Leonard's face, eagerly pressing into the psi points as Snoon sighs out the words through her panting. "My mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts..." Leonard closes his eyes and surrenders to the flooding light.


	14. What's Done is Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WHEW!!! What did I just do? Did you guys see that going down in quite that way? Either way, I hope you enjoyed my shenanigans and are enjoying the story so far!  
> We're about half way through this story, and looks like things are only gonna get more dramatic and exciting from here guys, so enjoy this little interlude chapter before we get back to our main story!  
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: mentions of sex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: From this point on, the chapters are now up-to-date with the story I have posted on Tumblr. Updates for both versions of this story will be a bit more inconsistent now; usually get a few chapters posted once or twice a month.

      Late into the night, when the room was darker than space itself, Jim is awoken by the persistent ring of his comm on the nightstand. Begrudgingly, and mostly on autopilot, he reaches out for it and flips it open as he brings it to his ear.

      "Kirk here," he answers it while rubbing at his eyes.

      "Jim, it's Leonard. Sorry to wake you at this hour, I just wanted to let you know that the issue with Snoon has been resolved," he says in monotone. Jim instantly wakes up at this news.

      "That's great Bones! How is she doing?" Jim asks.

      "Oh, she's getting better. Just took a reading of her vitals and they are beginning to stabilize already. She is sleeping right now," he tells Jim, looking at Snoon curled up against his side. Her head was resting on his bare shoulder and hand rested across his chest, sending content waves in her sleep at the feeling of his heartbeat under her palm.

      Jim, none the wiser, gives a sigh of relief as he flops onto his back in the bed. "That's such a relief Bones. I will let Spock know; he should still be up and I'm sure he will want to hear the good news right away," Jim says, looking towards their shared bathroom to look for any lights. "Who did we find to be her bondmate?" Jim asks the dreaded question with blind excitement.

      Leonard hesitates with answering the question, flustered. "Um...well... I did."

      "No Bones, I know you found her a bondmate, but who is her bondmate?" Jim restates the question, thinking Bones heard him wrong.

      Bones just gives a sigh in resignation. "That's what I'm sayin' Jim; I am," he tries again.

      Bones could count the anxious heartbeats pounding in his ears until Jim finally found his voice again. "No way...Bones...YOU became her bondmate?" Jim asks in astonishment, eyes flying wide open in shock. Throw that under the column of 'things you would never hear in any of the parallel universes'.

      "Well, we were runnin' out of time and out of options. This was just to save her life, and is just temporary until we can get the bond broken," McCoy explains.

      "But what about you? How is this bond affecting you now? Will you be ok?" Jim switches directions to ask about his status. 

      "It's not anything to be concerned over, Jim. I will be alright; we both will be. That was the whole point of this after all," Bones gives enough to plaque his friend.

      Jim was still dumbfounded by the revelation, worried for his friend. But the Captain side of his brain started to kick in- remembering that this was a Starfleet issue and needed to go through the channels to protect his friends. "Well, in the morning I am going to have to submit a request through Starfleet to keep her on the Enterprise with us until this mission is over. I need you on the ship when we go back to the Canis galaxy tomorrow and Spock said you guys need to stay together for awhile while the bond settles. Sorry Bones, I am not quite sure when we will be able to head to New Vulcan to have the bond broken for you."

      "It's ok Jim. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to do this," he sighs. "For the meantime, we still need to... work on getting her levels back to stable. And since we bonded some of the effects of the Pon Farr have been transferred to me too. So I will need to be put on medical leave until this is over," Leonard rationally explains, as vaguely as possible.

      Jim still catches on to his meaning and gives a wide smirk. "You mean because you two are going at it like rabbits?"

      "Shut up, you infant," Leonard shushes him. Jim just gives a hearty laugh.

      "For real though, are you ok Bones? How long will you need time off for do you think?" Jim asks. At this question, Snoon lifts her gaze to look up at McCoy with hungry eyes. He audibly swallows as he meets her gaze, feeling the stirrings pull in his gut.

      "I'll be alright. Maybe'll need a day...or two. I'll let you know when we're both stable again."

      "Understood, Doctor McCoy. Just make sure the door is locked. Hang a sock on the door." The comm clicks off without another response. Jim just laughs it off, finally sitting up in bed now that he was awake. Giving his body a nice stretch, fixing the pajama bottoms around his legs before he stands and walks into the bathroom. First, he turns on the florescent light by the old fashioned wood door, illuminating the pale bathroom for him as he turned to his left and approached Spock's door. He gives a second to try to listen for any stirrings or snoring, but when he only hears silence he gathers up his courage to lightly knock three times on the wood door.

      A few seconds tick by before Spock answers, dressed in Starfleet issued t-shirt and pajama bottoms; the same ones Jim was wearing, minus the shirt. "Jim, please come in," Spock acknowledges him, stepping aside to gesture him into his room. Jim graciously enters, familiar eye always picking up on the Vulcan keepsakes lining the shelves and walls and smoke from the burning incense even in the dark.

      "Sorry to barge in Spock. I hope I didn't disturb your meditation or time with Nyota," Jim says in way of an apology.

      "No Jim. Nyota is in the labs working on translating some frequencies we picked up in the Canis area. I was just sitting and doing some reflecting, you did not disturb anything. And you are always welcome into my quarters," he reminds Jim with a pointed brow. Jim just gives him a sheepish smile.

      "Anyhow, I am actually here to bring you some good news! I just got a call from Leonard. He told me that he found a bondmate for Snoon, and she is already showing signs of recovery from her Pon Farr!" Jim tells him excitedly, trying to prolong having to tell him the real news. Spock visibly lights up at this news, and Jim notices his shoulders drop from their usual tense position.

      "That is, indeed, welcome news. I am glad to see the Doctor went along with the bonding. I shall be sure to thank him once the Pon Farr dissipates," he mentions as he pushes past Jim to lead them over to his sitting area. He gestures for Jim to take a seat across from him. Jim practically falls into 'his' seat with a loud thud.

      "Wait...you knew Bones would bond with Snoon? You guys talked about this?" Jim asks him in shock.

      "Yes, Jim. It came to my attention this morning that Leonard was able to touch Snoon. So, I... asked of him to become Snoon's bondmate to save her life. I left him quite upset at my tactic, however I am relieved he came to his senses."

      "Sneaky Vulcan," Jim playfully chastises him. "I am also relieved that we were able to save your friend. However, it is going to get complicated now, with Bones going through the settling of the bond while we head back to the Canis Galaxy. Will the affects be too much and affect him for the mission?"

      "The bond should be fully settled by the time we arrive at the boarder of the galaxies. It should not cause an issue. The only requirement for Leonard and Snoon at this point is to remain in close proximity to each other until the bond settles. They must allow time for the bond to strengthen, and to heal their bodies from the effects of the Pon Farr."

      "These rules to the bond are very complex, leave no room for exceptions huh?" Jim says, running a hand through his hair. "I am just relieved this is all over now. That we didn't end up losing her too." Jim continues running his hand through his hair, unable to settle himself. "It's just scary now, with the both of them having to go through the Pon Farr. You were not down-playing it when you described how scary it is." He looks up at Spock, eyes starting to fill with tears, seeking resolution to this emotional rollercoaster. "Promise me they will both be ok from here, Spock."

      Spock's expression nearly mirrors his friends, but he speaks with absolution. "If anyone can win against Death himself, it is Leonard McCoy," Spock reassures them both.


	15. The Dagger Digs Deeper from Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We have more altercations and issues forming with the Federation, within the Federation. History is doomed to repeat itself automatically, even way into the future. Unless it is intervened and stopped by those who do not want to repeat it.  
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: mentions of violence

      Early in the morning, before most of the crew were on Alpha duty or were even awake, Jim calls all of the team from the other ships into a conference room on the Enterprise. A few days prior he had scheduled an urgent appointment to convene the Fleet Admirals. But, he had not told the admirals it was to make an appeal for changing the mission to the Canis Galaxy; it was Admiral Keeton' s idea to keep that detail from them so they would not flat out reject their call. All of the captains and their first officers- dressed to the nines in their formal uniforms- were lined up behind Admiral Keeton, who was seated in front of the display monitor. Kirk, standing right behind Keeton, places a warm hand on his shaking shoulder.

      "It will be ok, Admiral. Just tell them what you told me, and then we can set this all straight. Since you are aiding in helping a mission, they will take that into consideration."

      Kirk's words do not seem to faze the Admiral's grim mood. "I am not afraid of punishment, Captain. I have avoided punishment for too long, and it is only right I take a punishment suitable for my crimes. I fear these admirals will make the same foolish mistake my crew made all those years ago, and let their pride blind them to the right course of action." All of the crew silently exchange solemn looks around the room at his words.

      Uhura speaks up first, leaning towards Jim from the communication station in the corner of the room. "Captain, what will we do if even Admiral Keeton isn't able to convince them to change their minds?" she asks to Jim, professionally using his title in front of formal company. Mixed into her always professional demeanor was an obvious anxiety that Kirk could pick up on. He understood. He felt the same way.

      "We are now a part of this, whether they like it or not. We cannot look back or ignore what we have already seen and heard; that is the only way that change happens. And we've already wasted enough valuable time with this back and forth. We are doing the right thing by at least attempting to gain the Admiral's favor. And if they cannot come to appreciate that fact..." Kirk alludes to the next part of that statement, but cannot say it out loud. Uhura catches on, none the less.

      A large hand grabs at Kirk's arm and tugs at him for attention. "Captain Kirk, is it ok for her to overhear all of this information?" Captain Adebayo whispers in Kirk's ear, out of concern.

      "Lieutenant Uhura is one of our most exceptional and dedicated crewmembers. She exhibits nothing but professionalism and discretion with all of her tasks," Spock cuts in, as if Adebayo had whispered in his own ear. Jim just openly smiles at his outburst and Uhura hides her flattered smile behind her hand as Spock falls back into line. Jim turns back to the other captain to agree.

      "My First speaks the truth. I trust Uhura to be nothing but discreet. I trust her more than I trust Starfleet at the moment." The words were sour in his mouth, even with how much he knew Nyota deserved them. The fact that the admirals and even the institution of Starfleet itself was so corrupt to him now made him boil on the inside. If they did not care or want to make the effort to fix this situation, then it was up to those who did care to uphold and save the ideals they believed in. Faith was only meaningful when it was acted upon and shown.

       Kirk makes the tiniest of nervous glances up at Adebayo as he speaks. "Do you disagree? With what we are planning to do here?" Kirk asks his fellow captain, standing at his side.

      The captain gives his main answer in the form of shaking his head. "No. Cowards and blind men rush into wars. The brave man is the one who knows when not to fight."

      Kirk turns to asks the same of the small captain by Spock. "Captain Ahmad?"

      She takes a moment to choose her right words. "For centuries, my people had known nothing but fighting. Fighting from other men in the name of idols and ideals, fighting amongst ourselves. I would be honored to be a part of the team that focuses to bring peace for others, and will give all my resources for that fight." Oban and Ifede nod along in rapt agreement.

      "But. We will still fight if we need to," Uhura clarifies solemnly.

       "Only as a last resort. If they just are looking to fight and kill, we will win before they have a chance to." Kirk rubs at his face after he is done speaking. Kirk felt tired of having to say all these things all the time. He felt like he was an old broken record at this point. But, he hoped his words could finally turn into action, today. He glanced at the old-fashioned Earth clock on the wall.

      Kirk stood as straight as Spock, mentally preparing for the call they were about to make. "Uhura, it is now 7 am, ship time. Please patch us through to Fleet Admiral Nogura. He should be expecting our call," Jim orders.

      "Aye aye, Captain," Uhura tells him with the smallest of smiles under her professional demeanor. After a moment of loading screen Uhura says, "Connection established with Admiral Nogura's office on Earth, Captain."

      "Admirals. This is Captain Kirk, calling along with Captains Drake, Ahmad, and Adebayo. Can you hear us?" Kirk calls out.

      "We hear you Kirk," the Admiral answers before his face appears on the screen. Once it does, his face twists into a harsh glare of contempt.

      "What is this? How did Admiral Keeton get into the Enterprise?" Nogura growls more than asks.

      "He snuck onto my ship, Sir," Captain Drake answers right away. "Hid in my cargo bay and even spent some time in my brig," Captain Drake responds to the admiral blankly. His First elbows him in the rib.

      "Is this true, Tom? Why did you do that?" one of the other admirals at Nogura's side asks in concern.

      The Admiral looks up at Kirk, silently asking for encouragement, and Kirk gives him the slightest of nods. The Admiral then rises from his seat, balancing himself by his palms on the desk. He clears his throat before he speaks.

      "I came to the Enterprise because I needed to explain a few missing details on the mission on the Canis Galaxy to these captains in person. Just like now I need to explain these details to you as well."

      "What are you talking about Tom? We already have discussed the Canis issue with these captains. Kirk, what kind of trick are you trying to pull?" the admiral growls in annoyance.

      "This is no trick, and I am not being coerced into anything," Keeton stands up for himself. "In fact, it was I who has had you all deceived this entire time." He dives right into his explanation before anyone can speak up. "As an ensign on my first ship, I traveled to the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy with my crew and met these beings. We rescued the people of an ice planet that was going to be destroyed and brought them to safety, which is how we came across the different beings of the Canis galaxy, and the Solarans. None of these beings had even come across warp technology yet; their technology only resembled Earth at its 21st century."

      "Wait... your ship went to the Canis galaxy? Why is there no record of this on Starfleet history?" Nogura asks in anger. The only reasonable emotion he had ever shown. Keeton continues on.

      "I need to explain... the horrible things absolute power can make a man do, when it is put into the wrong hands. We were praised and worshiped by them for our efforts, and the power got to many of the men's heads, including my Captain. Made them feel entitled to... certain pleasures, being so far from home. He built an empire there. Became a dictator, a tyrant. Gave no care to the lives we had saved, that we vowed as Starfleet officers to protect and respect. Used them however and whenever he pleased, and many men of the crew followed the path he had created."

      Before Kirk had to squeeze his eyes shut from the horrible stimuli, he caught a glimpse of the different expressions on everyone's faces. Uhura was covering her face, trying to hold back the sympathetic tears springing to her eyes. Drake was looking down at the floor, twisted expression on his face as he glared at the carpet. The admirals- thankfully- had varying expressions of horror painted on their faces as they listen to the admiral's story. Jim reopens his eyes when he senses Spock looking down at him, his first's eyes serving to ground him. He takes a deep breath in and turns his attention back to the story.

      "It is understandable why they chose to rebel, why they felt they needed to kill the captain and those men responsible for their suffering, just so it could end. Many of us felt the exact same way as it was going on, but felt helpless to speak up or stop it. The night they overthrew my captain, the Canis people collected as many bodies as they could, throwing them into a roaring fire and displaying their heads on stakes. Before they could kill all of us all or damage the ship, Admiral Davis- who was a Lieutenant back then- was able to safely help the last of us to escape. He was the one who made the call to destroy the mission logs. And once we were back in contact with Starfleet, we played it all off as a Klingon ambush and never spoke of it again."

      And that was the end of the story. Everyone stood by as Admiral Nogura worked through his shock enough to speak. "How could this have happened, Keeton?" he asks in a rumble. "Why was this kept secret from us for so long?"

      "Shame," Keeton explains flatly. "The men were ashamed of what had been done. I was ashamed for not stopping it, not speaking up after the fact, not doing anything to make amends or change the damage we had caused. I was too concerned with my own career to admit my fault. I am no better than the captain. And because of that, now we are here. In this messed up situation." Admiral Keeton was now unable to keep himself composed, his unfiltered emotions bleeding through the rising tone of his voice. Tears freely started to collect in his eyes.

      "So, you must understand why they hate us, why their hatred is valid. Why they are acting this way towards the Federation. They see us as a threat because they have survived our barbaric behavior before. They see us as dangerous and ruthless. They are only trying to protect themselves after a trauma. And they would rather struggle and die than accept our help. Because they are more afraid of us than death!"

      The strain and heavy weight of his emotions was taking a toll on his body. He was unable to breathe, struggling to stand. Kirk and Adebayo grab him by the arms and help reel him back to place him in his seat, Jim gesturing to Uhura to make a call down to MedBay for some oxygen. Kirk gestures for Spock to trade him places at Keeton's side so he could turn and have his turn with the admirals.

      "Admirals, please forgive that this information coming about this way. It was Admiral Keeton's wish to be able to say his peace in person, and I wanted to honor that bravery. We are in no way trying to undermine the honor of the Federation or Fleet Admirals that serve it," Kirk uses his diplomacy skills to try to placate the admiral's pride.

      "It sure feels that way Kirk. After all the stunts you have pulled with this mission so far, after all of these underhanded manipulation attempts and attacks on us; you continually disrespect our orders."

      Jim Kirk speaks around his criticisms. "I am not showing disrespect to your authority or orders. I am simply trying to appeal to the council to change their orders in a show of humanitarianism and good faith."

      "'Good faith'? Good faith needs to be reciprocated, or at least respect needs to be shown. These creatures have shown nothing but the polar opposite of these things. What would be the purpose of continuing on these pointless attempts to reach peace with these creatures?" he says crassly, angry enough to forgo all of his formalities.

      "Because now we have the truth we were looking for!" Kirk yells. "These answers are horrible and frightening, but at least now we know the truth of what is really going on and we can figure out a plan to correct things. We can make amends with these beings, make peace with them and grow from our past mistakes with them. Once we do that, then we can help to rescue their people. We need to be the ones to offer the olive branch, to show the good faith and put all of this behind us so we can all move forward. We have to try."

      "You are delusional Kirk. Your ideals and plans are unrealistic. These beings have shown no wishes for negotiation--.”

      "Because they are afraid of us!"

      ”--Because they do not want to do anything other than kill us. They do not want our help or any association with us. They have made that abundantly clear. And that is their decision. We cannot force peace and help onto those who do not want it, even if it is in their best interest. We did not force the gun into their hand, we did not make them attack us. That was their decision alone, and they stand by it. Some people just want to watch the world burn."

      As the Admiral's harsh words sink into Kirk's bones, Nurse Chapel briskly makes her way into the room, carrying the oxygen tank and tubing in her hands. Jim refocuses and makes room for her to get to the Admiral, and she crouches down at his side as she sets up the tank and the mask on the admiral's face. He clutches onto the mask and takes a couple deep gasps in before he can start breathing normally.

      "Admiral Keeton. Your orders are to stay on the Starbase," Nogura tells him. "We will have transportation back to Earth be arranged for you where we will deal with this matter in a private manner. Kirk, we are sending the Enterprise on a diplomacy mission to Narut IV. To check in on them and see how the civilization is building up with the provisions we gave them. That is a show of 'good faith'." Kirk and Spock both knew it was just busy work, something formal Starfleet could use to keep them away from the Canis Galaxy. Kirk gives Spock a side glance, and Spock stoically returns it before looking back at the screen.

      "Captains Drake, Adebayo and Ahmad. Your orders, direct from Starfleet Fleet Council, are still the same: to head to the boundary line and take care of the Canis Avengers before they can become a larger threat to our galaxy."  You are given permission to use any means necessary to accomplish this mission. Then you will report back to Starfleet Headquarters on Earth.

      "This mission is completely top secret," he goes on to emphasize. "No word of this mission or the inhabitants of this galaxy- past or present details- are to be discussed with anyone. Now or once it is complete. Breaking these orders will result in immediate termination, dishonorable discharge, and charges of treason. 

      Keeton is out of his seat instantly, pushing at the oxygen and officers in his way. Everyone tries to attend to him in confusion as he keeps pushing them away. "You." His voice shakes as he speaks. "You're shoving this under the rug too?" Keeton yells out in rage. The light goes off in Jim's head, and he turns to glare up at the screen. _Tell me this isn't true. Tell me it isn't you too,_ he begs in his mind.

      "The people of the Federation do not need to be affected by things that were out of their control. We have enough to deal with in our own quadrant of the galaxy with the Klingons and taking care of our own. They are not one of us and do not want to be one of us," the admiral says to justify his ruling.

      "They are one of us," Kirk clarifies in a near-growl. "They are living, breathing, feeling, sentient creatures of this universe just like us. Our galaxy is putting their lives in danger, has put their lives in danger. We owe it to them to try."

      "We simply do not have the resources or people to expend to this right now, especially to people who have brought harm and death to the Federation on multiple occasions." All of the other Fleet admirals sit uncomfortably beside Nogura, unable and unwilling to speak up against the senior admiral during his tirade.

      "But you have people- multiple crews of hundreds of people willing to volunteer and step up, right here!" Captain Ahmad steps forward, not even bothering to hide her outrage with the admiral's behavior. First officer Hawkins tries to reach out and stop her, to protect her from the Admiral, but she shrugs him off and pushes him back with a hand to the chest.

      "And now that we know the truth of why these Canis Avengers hate us so, we can correct and negotiate a truce between our kinds. We can show them the pure intentions and compassion the Federation is truly built on. We can give them, and ourselves, a chance to not keep going down this road," Captain Adebayo follows the other captain's lead and steps forward, backing her up.

      Nogura does not even flinch at this notion. He just continues to glare at them, unfazed and unblinking. "Complete this mission, just as we have specified, before we try you all for treason," he grounds out. "Remember your loyalties, remember your families back on Earth, and the people of the Federation you have sworn to protect. Do not contact us again until it is done. Nogura out," Nogura reminds them in a threatening tone before he abruptly cuts off the transmission.

      Drake is the first one to break out of the spell that weighed over the entire room, turning to walk away and punch the wall in frustration and outrage. He leans on it for a while after, holding back the rage that was threatening to bubble out from every pore. Adebayo holds his wife gently as she gasps and hiccups through her tears. Ahmad just bores holes into the ground with her glare, fists clenched and fingers digging deep into her palms. "This isn't fair... how can they order us to do this? How can they threaten us to do their dirty work like this?" Captain Ahmad growls to no one in particular.

      Uhura walks over to Jim and Spock, placing a hand on Christine's shoulder and squeezing it in dread. "This is wrong. They expect them to just cover up all of this information, to exterminate entire races just to hide their shame. And expect us to just keep all of this quiet. What do we do?" she turns to ask her friends, her superiors for their insight.

      "We must file a formal grievance with Starfleet. Tell them what the Fleet Admirals- and Nogura specifically- have ordered these other ships to do. What information they are trying to cover up," Spock says, hoping this option would be most helpful.

      "Unfortunately, I don't think that will work," Jim cuts in. "Nogura has the power to just cover it up before a complaint could get to anyone. And too many people in Starfleet would be too scared to go up against him."

      "Besides, with no solid information in Starfleet's database or on file about the Canis Galaxy, the Fleet Admirals can twist this any way they want to and the masses of the Federation would be none the wiser. Paint them as savages, paint them as vigilantes against the Federation, that they're terrorists," Uhura speculates along with them. Jim feels grim, but becomes inspired by her words.

      "We need to get concrete evidence; records and video and proof of what is happening with the Canis Galaxy. We need to get the Canis Avengers or the inhabitants of the Canis Galaxy to trust us and expose this corruption. We need to perform this rescue mission successfully; now, for more reason than one."

      "But how...," Uhura gives a worried glance over towards the other captains. "What do we do to protect them? To protect our crew? If the admirals are so set on having this covered up and hidden from the Federation, they won't give the Captains a choice but to follow their orders. And if not them, then some other of Nogura's pawns after them." Jim and Spock both felt sinking feelings in their stomachs, knowing that Uhura was right.

      "That is not what I signed up for," Ahmad grounds out, overhearing the conversation between the Enterprise officers. "When I joined Starfleet... when I think of what I learned from Starfleet and believed the Federation to be capable of... An entity so powerful it could unite all beings under it, to join and bring help and solidarity to anyone out there who wants it. To do no harm. This is not it. This is not the Federation I was proud to become a part of, to serve." Her voice and body shake uncontrollably as she grounds the words out.

      Adebayo places a large hand on the small captain's shoulder, squeezing it tight and looking down at her in empathy as he speaks to the group. "The Admiral was not wrong in what he said: we cannot force peace with these beings if they do not want it. We are aware of that fact. But, what I will not stand by and blindly follow orders. Orders that are only meant to cover up their ignorance and pride."

      "So we're screwed either way though," Commander Hawkins adds to the dialogue in exacerbation. "We follow their orders, we're no better than them, just to keep our heads on our shoulders. We rebel against them, our heads are theirs. Probably won't even show us off as martyrs, just fill us in with other officers in their pocket to get the job done," he throws into the ever-growing pile of concerns. Jim listens to the other officers talk around him, all the voices morphing and spinning around him. He needs a moment to stand and think and absorb all of the information, but there was no more time left. They were all out of time, all sentenced to purgatory together.

      "Jim," Drake calls him. "We have to go to the Canis Galaxy and confront these Avengers. They are a genuine threat to our people. We will follow your plan to try at least negotiating peace with these beings first and foremost, so we can get access to the people on Demarxus, but we can't do this without you. You and your crew have more experience with these beings than we do, plus you have the Vulcan girl with the inside information on the Solarans. We need you to lead this if we are going to have any chance at succeeding." Drake knew exactly what he was asking of the blond: to go from Starfleet hero to traitor. To risk everything that had had for other-worlders that wanted nothing more than to see him dead.

      The entire room stood silent around Kirk, waiting for him to make the call. It was now, or never. "Ok. Drake, Adebayo, Ahmad, you heard the Admiral's orders. Prepare your ships to head to the boarder. But, meet me back here at noon ship's time; I want all of us to go over the repairs and modifications Mr. Scott has made to our ships for this mission. All of your ships will need to know how to use these gadgets to your advantage in preparation of what is to come with going back to the Canis Galaxy," Jim mentions in a hinting manner. "We will be right along behind you."

      One by one, the captains and their first officers file out of the room, paying silent acknowledgements to Kirk and Spock. Chapel leaves to grab the wheelchair she brought for Admiral Keeton, wheeling him out of the room and down to MedBay.

      "So, this is what you choose to do, Captain?" Spock asks once the room has cleared, not in disgust but in concern for his friend.

      "This is the choice I have to make. Their options are not options I can choose from, even though they are trying to force them on us. And you know me Spock, I never like to play by the rules," Jim pulls out his old academy persona, trying to make light of the too heavy situation. But, the worry was apparent in his tone and face. "Are you guys not ok with this? Do you think the crew will go with it?"

       Uhura places a hand on Jim's shoulder, coming in close at his side. "If they're not giving you a choice Jim, then they are not giving us a choice either. We're in this together," Uhura says reassuringly. "We trust your direction. That is what we will work for. Tell us what needs to be done and we'll take care of the rest." Jim nervously seeks Spock, feeling relief when Spock gives him a nod. Jim places his hand on top of Uhura's, giving it a tight squeeze in silent gratitude. He drops her hand from his shoulder, setting the tone back to professional.

      "Ok. Tonight. I will make the ship wide announcement...

       ... that we will be assisting the Pelican, the Igbo and Farishta in their mission to face the Canis Avengers," Jim tells the large multi-colored uniform crowd gathered together in the cafeteria from on top of a table. "But, what Starfleet is unaware of is that this is a mission of diplomacy, to try to negotiate peace with these beings. Starfleet has it in their mind that these beings are terrorists, and dangerous. They have done so many things wrong, but so have we. We need to give ourselves and them a chance to work this out peacefully, there are too many lives on the line here to risk so flippantly.

      "If this mission goes south, if these beings are uncooperative or do not wish to discuss a truce with the Federation, we will do whatever needs to be done to make sure our goal is met: protecting the sanctity of as many lives as possible. If these beings do not wish to aid in that goal, then they are putting their own people at risk and must be stopped before it is too late." Jim looks around at the mixed expression on everyone's faces- the horror, the anger, the hurt, the pride. These were the people that would make the change that needed to be made, every single one of them.

      "If there is anyone here that opposes this mission, I will not hold it against you. I will sign off on temporary shore leave on this base until the situation with the Canis Avengers is taken care of, and then will welcome you back to the ship with open arms. But, I implore as many of you as I can to stay. I need every single one of you to make this mission a success. I need all of my brilliant, innovative minds there to support this cause, to support me. I cannot do this without you," he says earnestly. Some of the faces seem to lighten up in the crowd, touched by the sincerity of the captain's plea. Called upon by the humanity of this mission he has set their vision towards.

      "Can't turn away from a once-in-a-lifetime mission like this," someone shouts out from the crowd in glee. They break the somber, serious mood set the chain going for more voices to call out.

      "Let's do this!"

      "We're not going down without a fight!"

      "We're with you, Captain!"

      "Oh Captain, my Captain!"

      "Let's teach Starfleet a lesson they will never forget!" All the voices rise up then, shouting their support and enthusiasm and passion into the space. Jim breaks out into an ecstatic, proud smile.

      "Alright then! Everyone, let's get started!" The entire cafeteria empties out of pumped crew members heading back to their stations, Jim leading the way.


	16. What Are Our Chances?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The captains have their last hurrah together before they begin their journey back to the Canis Galaxy. And the crew starts to wonder about where the Doctor McCoy has been hiding.  
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: mentions of violence, mentions of sex

      At high noon (well, a starships version of high noon anyway), the captains all gather in the engine room; a bit of an unorthodox place to hold a meeting. But this was the lair of Commander Scott, Starfleet's best engineer and the creator of the upgrades they would be going over with the team today.

      "Welcome everyone. I don't believe everyone here has had the opportunity to meet my chief engineer, Commander Montgomery Scott. He is the one who has designed and installed these upgrades to our systems, and helped to install this new equipment in your ships as well. Your engineers will all be able to explain the proper procedure for each of these programs aboard your ships, however we thought it would be best to learn all the technical information behind their functions and uses from the source himself.

      "But you guys have heard enough of me talking for a while now, I'm going to pass it over to the best Engineer in the fleet, Commander Scott," Jim proudly introduces him with a clap on his shoulder. Scotty smiles at his Captain before stepping forward; PADD in his hands and mind already buzzing with procedures and protocols ready to leap out of his skull.

      "Ladies and gentlemen, let's go ahead and hop to it, because I 'ave a lot of information to share with ye about these modifications before we leave dock. There are three types of upgrades we'll be demonstratin' today: energy conservation, defense, and weapons. Each of yer chief engineers have already made all 'o these modifications to yer ships as well in preparation for when we re-encount'r those Avengers, but since 'ye are here ya may as well see 'ow a _real_ starship puts these protocols to use," Scotty brags about his Enterprise, and the crowd interjects with a 'ooooo'.

      "Those are fightin' words, Commander," Ahmad taunts him with a smile on her face. It doesn't even phase Scotty, knowing his ship was truly the best out there.

       "So, if y'll please follow me I can'e show you to our first area to look at."

       "So we're going on a group tour essentially?" Drake cracks up in amusement when he realizes what is going on.

      "Yes. However, this tour director will not be providing snacks or bathroom breaks for this walk-around, so pipe down and get in line." More out of shock than anything the captain silently falls back into the group with the other captains, everyone around him flashing him teasing grins. Scotty felt proud of himself, whipping all of these baby captains into line was a good feeling. "Now, follow me."

      "The first set 'o protocols to show 'ya will be the energy conservation. To the Jefferies tubes and fusion coils and power genera'ors, we have installed devices to regulate, conserve an' redirect the energy from the dilithium crystals to thee entire ship," Scotty walks them around the bottom floor of the engine room, gesturing up to the sleek Jefferies tubes humming high above them. He walks them over to a control panel nearby and sets up the display of the energy setting panel to look at. "We 'ave also placed 4 new power generators for the short-term, mainly in the areas for life support and maintain' shields. But, we also re-hardwir'd the energy flow to these areas so we don' have to use as much power from the crystals to maintain them.

      "Power redirection is now 20% more effec'ive and now immediate, able to be access'd and redirected from your PADDs." Scotty pulls up the application on his own PADD to demonstrate the controls to the Captains. He hands it over for the captains to look for themselves. "The overall control is linked to the captain's personal PADD, however thee system is spilt up among thee departments essen'ally. This will help an'one in any department instan'ly redirect their resources as they need to in case we 'ave another battle with the Canis Avengers, or in future ba'tles." The captains all stare at Scotty as he continues on with his explanations, seeing only a third of his work so far and already in awe of his genius. Jim just stands back and smiles in pride, already knowing and sure of what Scotty was capable of doing, and proud to see others just as amazed as he was on a daily basis.

      "Now, onto our shields. The power genera'ors are automatically set up to raise shields upon first impact, or when thee controls are activa'ed on the bridge. Along with more power direc'ed towards the shields, we now have installed smaller micro-shields aroun' the power genera'ors since the Avengers aimed for them the last time," Scotty explains to them, showing them the little cube-like devices planted around the tall generator in the engine room. He indicates for Captain Ahmad to flip on the controls on the PADD, and when she does a small blue shield flickers to life around the generator. "These are also placed around yer genera'ors as well, to keep them safe. And, thanks to the analysis from the labs on the Enterprise, we have been able to program our shields to protect against their energy-depletin' goop. However, the shields will have to take part of the hit to prevent the goop from getting through and drainin' the entire genera'or dry."

      Without any other indication or explanation, Scotty indicates for the captains to follow behind him as he leads them into a turbolift. He stands silently at the front as the lift begins to move.

      "Where are we going now?" Captain Adebayo asks Jim when they are all piled in. Jim just stands amusedly in the back of the turbolift.

      "I don't know. I'm just a tourist like you guys here," Jim shrugs with a smirk. The turbolift carries them down to a place all the captains immediately recognize once the step off the lift. They were in the armory- where all the weapons were stored inside of the blasters of the ship.

      "Now, onto weaponry. The ship's main source of offense are thee photon torpedoes that are fired out of blasters like this one," Scotty gestures to the space they were in. "And along with their regular photon power, we have now equipped 'em with a little surprise for these Canis guys," he says proudly. "These blasters are now equipped with modified photon torpedoes that contain the same energy depleting substance they used on us, an' are covered with thee photon energy coating. We also have come up with a few new weapons to try, since we never even got a hit on them the last time. But now we have upgraded our blasters, phasers and even made a few long-range weapons to strike before we can be struck. It took a lil' bit of time and lots of borrowed man power from thee starbase to do, but we were able'ta install each of the weapons on all of the starships, so we can hit them hard!" Scotty says excitedly about his creations. But a shake of head from Jim cues him to reel it back. "Or not!"

      "But, this is the conclusion of the tour. Any compliments can be dir'ected to me. Any questions can be directed to my assis'ant Keenser," Scotty says, moving out of the way to reveal the short green creature just staring back up at the captains with an old-fashioned pad of paper and pencil.

      "Um... I believe we are good, thanks," Captain Drake answers for all of them.

      "Alright then, let's head back to the transpor'er room and get ya captains back to yer respective ships," Scotty just ushers them back towards the turbolift and sets it to take them to the transporter room.

       "So, is there anything else we need to go over before we start to head out to the galaxy?" Captain Ahmad asks Kirk for clarification as they get onto the lift.

      "No, I believe everything has already been given to each of you. We are all about as prepared for this mission as we can be," Jim tells the team.

      "Meaning even with all of this work we have no idea on how it is going to turn out," Captain Adebayo translates to the room.

      "Hasn't that always been the case with the final frontier?" Jim asks in mock-amusement. Once the turbolift doors open to the transporter room, Jim escorts all of the captains to the transporter pad. Scotty heads behind the controls to prepare the coordinates and power up the device. "We will let you know if there is anything else we can think of that you need or vice versa. We will be in touch," Jim says to his captains in reassurance.

      "Thank you, Captain Kirk, for all your help. And thank you as well, Commander Scott, for these new upgrades," Captain Adebayo extends his appreciation to them both. Scotty waves back to him in thanks.

      "We shall reach out to you on approach to the galaxy to discuss strategy," Ahmad tells Kirk. They had all agreed prior to strategize this way, to play things by ear and keep their options open for whatever could happen.

      "Be safe on your way to the galaxy." Captain Drake wishes him.

      "Thank you, Captains. We will see you in 7 days," Jim says in lieu of farewells. The other captains just smile and nod at him before the energy beams spirit them away to when they would next meet, on the battle field.

* * *

 

 

      You would think the word of rebellion would be thrown down the halls of the Enterprise. But, no; matter how far into the future we look, the basics of human behavior will never change.

      Two lieutenants- dressed in red Starfleet issue athletic shorts- were pitted up against each other, limbs tangled and pushing against the other. One of the hands finds the perfect purchase on the other's arm to flip him and push him onto the floor. They both land with a loud thud, and after a moment to let the victory and defeat radiate, they break away.  panting and trying to catch their breaths and regain their equilibriums.

      "So...did you hear the news? About Doctor McCoy?" one lieutenant asks the other as he regains his breathing.

      "You mean about the Vulcan bonding thing? Yeah, my girlfriend told me about it. Said she heard some of the lab techs talking about it yesterday."

      "Crazy right? I mean... crazy that he would go and do something like that to save a patient," the lieutenant comments, offering his hand to help the other man to his feet.

      "How did everyone even find out about them? I'd imagine this was supposed to be kept behind closed doors," an ensign asks his friends as they make their way up from engineering to head on lunch break.

      "One of the orderlies accidentally walked in on them. Didn't know what a sock on the door meant," the ensign jokes as he climbs up the ladder, the other ensigns following behind him giving hearty laughs.

      "But how is that even possible? I mean, can humans really bond with Vulcan's since we don't have as much psychic capability? They're so selective and secretive, are we sure that's even possible? Or safe?" a surgical resident questions while working in the MedBay, looking back nervously and looking away M'Benga walks in the door with Lieutenant Commander Spock.

      "I thought that was the reason Lieutenant Uhura and the Commander hadn't tied the knot yet!" a nurse chimes in in a whisper.

      "Guess it can be done after all," the orderly shrugs as he folds bedsheets. "Heard that he has been on medical leave the last few days because of it."

      The gossip continues on like that all day, only growing on ears and in extremes as it makes its way across the ship. Only a few deaf ears chose not to listen to it, from lack of interest or focus on other things. Scotty whistles a mindless, pleasant tune as he makes his way down to the cafeteria- mind more on the sandwich he would have than anything else. He misses the people crowding together in the halls, only noticing something amiss when a group of cadets were standing in the entryway of the mess hall, him having to clear his throat to get them to break up what they were discussing. Though, he only thought of it as 'weird' versus anything going on, and goes back to his excitement about his sandwich.

      Once his mission is completed and he has the object of his desire, he can turn his attention to his surroundings. Scotty picks up on a few conversations that turn into whispers as he makes his way down the rows of tables. He tries to listen in on the secret words, but his hearing is not quite what it was in his youth after spending years around loud engines. It seems the noise only picks up again after it is a safe distance behind his back.

      As he moves to take his seat with the rest of the command crew, he takes another look around the cafeteria over his shoulder, spotting a few crew members eyeing him back and looking away nervously. "Seems lively 'n 'ere. What's the latest piece of gossip floatin' around this place that 'eryone's so hung up on?" Scotty asks the others as he settles in to his seat next to Sulu. 

      "I thought all gossip ruminated in the bowls of the ship then worked its way up?" Sulu teases him. 

      "Why does 'eryone keep saying that?" Scotty asks incredulously. Sulu just laughs it off before turning his attention back to the topic at hand. He takes his own look over his shoulder before he continues, gaining a surprisingly serious tone as he speaks. 

      "They're talking about Doctor McCoy, and how he got bonded to Spock's friend." Scotty physically and vocally backpedals before he can find his words.

      "The man got himself married to a Vulcan?" Scotty cries out in disbelief. Everyone at the table attempts to shush him. "Oh pipe down! Sounds like 'eryone here already knows anyway," he gestures to the buzzing cafeteria. "Why in blazes name would he go an' do that? Out of all the strange things they promise ye'll see in space..." he mutters dazedly.

      "We can't be talking about this," Uhura cuts in between bites of her salad. "This is inappropriate and unprofessional to be talking about Leonard behind his back like this."

      "Like you don't know all the details from Commander Spock already," Christine leans over to poke fun at her. 

      "Yeah, but you don't hear me gossiping about all the details I know," she replies in pure sass and a quirk of her brow.

      "Then can you at least tell us about their condition? Jokes aside, this is a scary time for both of them and we're worried," Sulu leans in to ask her. She pauses to finish chewing her salad, then leans in closer to Sulu. The rest of the table leans in around them, taking a serious turn from their normal lightheartedness to absorb this serious information.

      "What I have heard is that Leonard was the only match they could find for Snoon out of hundreds of people on the base and on the ship. She was practically on death's door and Leonard elected to go through with the bond to save her life. And with the bonding now some of the effects have transferred to Leonard, so they both need some time to come out of it."

      "Wow...that is, harsh," Sulu says as he leans back, taking it all in. He felt scarred for his friend, and for Spock's friend. He was not surprised at why Leonard did what he did, that was just the kind of man he was, and he respected him for it. But he wondered how Leonard would explain this to Jo if something went wrong. He just prayed to himself that wouldn't have to happen, for all of their sakes.

      "Will they be ok? Will they come out of it alright?" Christine asks the question aloud, her scientific mind kicking in over the gossip mind.

      "Normally, yes. It just normally takes a few days to settle and then both parties are fine. Snoon can block the bond once it is settled and they can have it broken the next time we are on New Vulcan. However, a lot of unusual variables went into this bonding so..."

      "They don' know for 100% certainty that all â€˜o this is gonna work out ok," Scotty's analytical brain finishes for her. An awkward silence fills the space as an answer, no one confident enough to give a better one than that. And later on, when Sulu gains the courage to ask when they 'should'... not 'would'... be able to see Leonard again, Uhura says 'tomorrow' with a more hopeful tone than definite.


	17. How It All Starts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Story is back on track after that little cliff hanger I left y'all with! Now we get to see a bit more into how Leonard and Snoon are handling and will be able to work through newlywed (bonded) life together. Next few chapter are gonna mainly focus on their relationship as we make our way back to the Canis Galaxy.  
> rating: t  
> warnings: mentions of trauma (for both Leonard and Snoon), mentions of sex, glimpses into emotional turmoil

There was a knock on the door; more like a tap, so light only Snoon could hear it.

"Come in," she calls, and McCoy looks up in confusion just as Spock enters the room with Doctor M'Benga.

"Leonard, Snoon, how are you both doing today?" M'Benga cheerfully asks as he makes his way over to McCoy to shake his hand. Spock comes to sit in the chair next to Snoon by the window, giving her a troubled look as he looks you over to convey his concern over your condition. She gives him a silent nod in acknowledgement and reassurance of her well-being.  
McCoy reaches for his PADD on the freshly-made bed to show to M'Benga. "I just took a reading for both of us with the tricorder and everything is clear. Adrenaline and cortisol levels are stable. Blood pressure--"

"No medical talk, Leonard," M'Benga chuckles as he removes the PADD from the CMO's hand and places it on top of his PADD to carry. "I can read that off my own PADD. I need you to be empirical with me. Since the bond is a psychic connection, I need my data to be on the things I can't get from a tricorder. Share with me what you are noticing and feeling right now," he says, as it if was the easiest thing in the world. The expression that crosses Leonard’s face says otherwise.

"Ok...um... in the back of my mind, there is a dull hum. Like, a physical sensation of static. Through the static I get momentary impressions of emotions and words. Snoon has already explained to me that is what my side of the bond will look since I am not used to being psychically connected to someone else's mind. It was just...stronger when we were melded, and it was so much more... intense than this. I thought it would be louder than this," he explains the picture in his mind, confusion apparent in his tone.

"No, Leonard, you are doing great. The fact that you are picking up on all of that is a great sign, it means the bond is strong and healthy. It takes time for a mind not used to psychic interference to pick up clearer signals from the other end of the bond. A few research projects on Vulcan were able to show over time with practice strong telekinetic communication with other species are capable. I believe your mother participated in a few of those as well, right, Commander Spock?" M'Benga turns to ask.

Spock appears physically uncomfortable to be discussing any of this information, but the Bridge crew had spoken with him before to give the doctors any information they needed right now. "Yes Doctor M’Benga. As one of the only humans to successfully bond with a Vulcan, it was immensely helpful that the bond between my parents was studied. It provided a lot of information on how to keep the bond strong, since that instinct comes naturally to Vulcans."

M’Benga nods in understanding and then turns to Snoon next. "How about your side of the bond, Snoon? What are you able to pick up on from the bond?”

"I am able to pick up on Leonard's thoughts and emotions very clearly." Now it Leonard's turn to grow physically uncomfortable. "He...is a very emotionally expressive human. The bond is settling well, growing stronger every day.” She can feel Leonard’s nerves flare up at that fact, and goes even deeper when he remembers she can sense that emotion within him.

"Have you been able to sense each other through it? Even when you are not touching? How about talking through the bond?"

“Wait, we will be able to do that?” Leonard McCoy asks, in a few parts intrigue and many parts fear.

“With time and practice with the bond, yes, most bondmates are able to communicate over their bonds. I would be able to sense your state and location through the link to your katra. However, we will not be strengthening the bond more than necessary to block it.” Leonard knew that it was both of your desires to do so, but the cold and hasty way she said it to M’Benga caused a spark of anger to rise up in him.

M’Benga just takes it all in stride, reading the room enough to make sure he would not push or ask more than necessary. "Is this as far apart as you two feel comfortable with right now?" M'Benga asks, to which both of them just give an unpleased purse of lip and nod. M’Benga is clearly able to read those responses as well. “Are you two going to be alright, being bonded? I know how hard it can be to adjust to living in another culture, especially living in the mind of someone with different world-perceptions and principals than yourself,” M’Benga attempts to soothe them.

“It’s just the mind-reading thing in general, honestly,” McCoy admits. “The sooner this bond stabilizes and I can have my brain back to myself. Things will be ok after that, until we can go to New Vulcan to have the bond broken.” 

“Is that the plan, Snoon?” M’Benga turns to ask you for clarification, not used to Vulcan’s dissolving their bonds so whimsically.

“Indeed. This was merely something Leonard offered to do to save my life, nothing more,” she explains to him, again speaking hastily.

“I see. If that is what the both of you want…” M’Benga says, Snoon internally swearing he sent her a sly look before his normal smile returns to his face. “I am sure Snoon and Spock are both very thankful to you for stepping in like this, Leonard. If there is anything I can do to help with this, please let me know, alright?” he offers everyone in the room sincerely. 

“M’Benga, please just get us out of this room. That would help out a lot.”

M’Benga listens to Leonard’s plea and nods in empathy. “Alright. Since there are no physiological signs of Pon Farr remaining and no psychological wear from the bond, I am going to give you both a clean bill of health. I am also making couple’s counseling with the ship’s counselor mandatory, to help you both adjust to being bonded. Just once a week. But, besides that I see no more reasons to keep you in here, so I will be releasing you back to your quarters today to settle and rest. I know you won’t let me keep you on medical leave any longer Leonard, so under the conditions that you take it slow and adhere to the bond to let it settle, I will allow you to return to duty starting tomorrow.” McCoy was so overjoyed he could practically kiss the man, but thanks him with a tight handshake and pat on the shoulder instead. 

“Thank you M’Benga,” he says sincerely. 

“Of course, Dr. McCoy. Anytime. And Ms. Snoon, my office is open for you anytime you may need it as well,” he offers her. Snoon just silently nods to him in acknowledgement. “Now, Mr. Spock, would you please escort these two to Leonard’s quarters?” M’Benga turns and asks the XO politely, gathering his things to leave the room and Spock stands to begin leaving as well.

“Wait…what? We’re gonna be livin’ together?” McCoy asks in shock, happy bubble instantly deflating. 

“Yes, Leonard. You and Snoon need to stay in close physical proximity to each other at all times until the bond is completely settled, otherwise with prolonged separation there will be harsh physical side effects,” Spock informs him, pointedly. Leonard felt the warning was more for her sake than his own. He knew this bond would be a commitment, but he never got the chance to think about what an impact it would make on his life before he needed to rush into it. It was changing everything, it was forcing itself onto every aspect of his life and he was beginning to hate it already.

“It will only be temporary while the bond settles, no more than a week,” M’Benga chimes in to alleviate some of the tension. But Leonard was not sure if that reassured him or not. “Would you prefer to stay here in the MedBay? We can set up an extra cot in your office, so that way she will be here and you can be here for duty,” M’Benga proposes for options. McCoy looks over at Snoon from the corner of his eye, noticing how her face and body fell the more M’Benga spoke about staying in MedBay. He understood- as much as the MedBay was a safe space for him, the MedBay was not a good or calming place for you after all that had happened.

“No. No, I would prefer to go back to my own quarters… It will be ok. We will figure it out ourselves,” he tells the others and offers to her. Snoon finally looks back at him, uncertainty from his words weighing heavily in her eyes. He says so, and in a way meant so, but Snoon also knew how he truly felt towards their bond. Only a week, and Snoon could block it and pretend it did not exist. 

“Yes. I would like to head to Leonard’s quarters now, to rest,” Snoon announces to everyone, to move things along. Leonard and Spock both begin to move at her request to get organized to leave. M’Benga just flashes Snoon an amused smile before he walks out of the room, everyone following behind him. 

“Snoon, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Please, do not be a stranger,” he says, flashing her the Vulcan salute. She reciprocates the gesture before he walks off and leaves the rest to the commander. The two science officers begin to make their way out of medbay, and Snoon follow along behind.

“I get that we have to share quarters while the bond settles, fine. But why do you need to come along too?” McCoy asks Spock, agitated. He just needed 5 minutes to himself to unload all of this, but it never seemed to let up.

“I am simply here to explain to the both of you the new arrangement, and to assist in answering questions you may have. I also desire to be sure that Snoon will be taken care of and settle well into this temporary arrangement.” McCoy gives Spock an incredulous glare before he deflates and speaks.

“If I wasn’t so tired right now, I would find that cute,” McCoy brushes it off and moves on ahead towards the turbolift. Spock just raises his brow at him in disdain before turning to Snoon and gesturing for her to move ahead of him. The two gentlemen wait for Snoon to get on the turbolift before sending one last glance to each other as it begins to move down.

“This is the floor for all the officer’s quarters,” Spock explains as they all walk down the hall, Snoon and Leonard walking together behind Spock. He explains all of this for her benefit. “Each room is locked with an individualized personal code, and can only be overridden by the CMO’s or Captain’s codes. The turbolift we just exited from will take you directly up to the mess and up to the Bridge as well. Yeoman attend to the rooms once a week to change linens and clean uniforms, but everything else is left to be taken care of by the officers themselves.”

“Spock, I could have explained all of this to her myself,” Leonard sighs tiredly. 

“As the CMO, you have a busy and demanding schedule. I am simply doing my part to assist in this situation and make sure Snoon receives this information,” Spock turns around to inform him.

McCoy marches right up to him, locking eyes with him in a heated glare. “I’m not happy about this, sure, but I am not a neglectful son of a bitch,” McCoy growls at him, stomping away from him in disgust. Snoon walks up to fill the doctor’s place at Spock’s side, looking up at him and waiting for him to turn his attention to her. He looks down at her softly, and Snoon was clearly able to see the concern in his eyes. 

“ _If you need anything or things become too difficult, my room is down that way. The passcode is 03260227. Please come by anytime you wish,_ ” Spock tells her privately. 

“ _Spock, thank you for looking after my wellbeing. I will let you know how everything goes with the doctor. But please, he is only doing this to help me, and it is difficult to adjust to suddenly being bonded, for the both of us. Please do not make this harder on him than it already is just for my sake_ ,” Snoon asks of him. He gives one last look towards McCoy, who was patiently waiting at his door for Snoon, before giving her a nod and walking down towards his quarters. Snoon watches him go, secretly wishing she was able to go with him instead. But, she turns to face reality and walk to join her reluctant bondmate at his door.

“While we have this arrangement, please think of my quarters as yours. You are welcome to use anything in there as you please. Make yourself comfortable and don’t hold back, ok?” McCoy offers, trying to be hospitable. Snoon nods in understanding.

Leonard turns to his keypad and types in his passcode, checking over his shoulder that Snoon is able to see it. Once he sees her nod in confirmation, he presses the enter key and the door slides open. He pauses to give her a moment to walk in first, but when she continues to stand in place, looking dazedly into space, he leads the way into his quarters. Snoon silently follows along behind him, eyes quickly adjusting to the lights when he calls for the computer to raise them.

Snoon first notices how simple his quarters are. Everything in his room is homey and in Earth-style, the furniture simple and matching in theme. A few pictures of scenery and a little girl- "Jo", the bond tells her- lined random walls and shelves across the living room and kitchenette. The bedroom off to the right side was still dark but she could see a nice large bed lined with crisp white sheets, almost luminating in the dark. 

Leonard seems to choke when his eyes land on it. Snoon turns to look up at him in concern, seeing the paling of his permanently sun-kissed skin. "That bed was not that big the last time I saw it."  
Snoon just nods her head in understanding, not really sure what else to do in a moment like this. But Leonard groans and rubs his neck. He would not sleep with her in the same bed. She was not comfortable with something like that, outside of the needs of Pon Farr. And frankly, neither was he. He had no idea what Spock and Jim were thinking with this gesture. 

"I'll sleep on the couch," Leonard tells her. He also figures once he is back on duty he could stay some nights in the cot in his office.

"No Leonard." He raises a brow at her in confusion. "We still must remain in close proximity for the settling of the bond. I cannot go farther than a room apart from you." Leonard groans as Snoon reminds him of the inevitable fact. "It will have to be the bedroom floor, and I will take the floor," she refutes him.

"I'm not gonna make a lady sleep on the damn floor," he says, insulted. He starts to search through his closet for the extra blankets and pillows he keeps around for Jim.

"Your humanistic chivalry is noted but unnecessary," Snoon dismisses it as he continues to set up the space on the floor at the foot of the bed. "I am a guest. Also, as a Vulcan, I do not require as much sleep as you need. And furthermore, as a surgeon it is critical for you to get a restful night of sleep to perform your duties at full capacity."

Leonard was too tired and too fried to keep battling with her this way. This bond and the demand of it was giving him a killer headache, and he just wanted to rest and tune it all out for a while. Why did it always have to be a battle with Vulcans? "These are my quarters so it is my call. The bed is yours," he dictates at her resolutely. 

Leonard catches a glimpse, just a quick piercing ray in the back of his skull and it's gone. Barely a whisper of something that translates to him as _"fear"_ , and brings up a mirroring emotion in himself. And brings up a sense of understanding. This was Snoon he was feeling. Her Vulcan mind may be different, but emotions were emotions plain and simple and he could read those.

"I would prefer the floor," she continues on and tries instead. She keeps looking at the big bed, the sight of it causing her heart to pound in her side. It was not welcoming to her, and it made her uncomfortable.

Leonard could still sense the buzzing from Snoon in the back of his mind, feeling the impressions of anxiety building up within her. This is exactly what he was afraid of happening in a scenario like this. As right as he was with his emotional analysis for her, he was wrong in her reasons for wanting to take the floor just as fear yet trying to remain polite. “Look, Snoon, I am genuinely wanting you to have the bed. And I will not disturb you and will sleep on the couch or in my office as soon as I can,” Leonard attempts to communicate, albeit a little rough and bluntly, trying to soothe the anxiety he was feeling in his head that matched his own. “I promise you are safe. There is no reason to be afraid Snoon,” he tells her outright.

It only took one second. Like a wall slamming down, a choking feeling slams into him, bringing him to his knees. He struggles to regain his breath and balance as he props himself up on his hands and knees. When he takes a peek up at Snoon, he sees her leaning against the frame of the bedroom door, face twisted in pain and trying to regain her breathing.

"What the hell was that?"

Snoon hesitates for a long moment, the shame flushing her face and entire body and rendering her unable to speak. She had closed the bond on him on pure instinct, unconsciously trying to protect herself. Snoon didn't even think about it, or what would occur by shielding herself from him. The bond was still too fragile to be blocked right now. Snoon digs her fingers into the wall, hearing it splinter and crack. She slowly lets up on the block, and she becomes awash with his confusion as he starts to feel her shame.

"I apologize Leonard," she whispers through gasps of air. "I did not...I did not even consciously close the bond. I had no control over it." 

_I am losing control of everything._ The voice is just a ghost in his brain, not even loud enough to consciously pick up on, but he could hear it. If he could hear it, she must be going out of your mind with fear and anxiety right now. This was what she was truly feeling- scarred out of her mind of being stuck another environment that was not her own, not having control over anything in her life. It was true, you both really were on the same page with all of this. _Parted and never parted…_

He rises up off the ground, slowly making his way over to Snoon. He stands in front of her, avoiding getting too close and not making any movement as she continues to avoid meeting his gaze. "It is... illogical,” Snoon finally says. “All of this, everything that has happened, I cannot reason why. I cannot reason...why this evokes such strong reactions in me. Even though I know you are not them, even though I know I am finally safe, even though this is nothing like that environment. You are saving my life and giving me your space to use. However, I cannot... my mind cannot differentiate the situations yet. And the fact that you now know what these feelings within me...know how weak I am..." 

It still amazed him how deeply she felt. He knew Vulcans prided themselves on logic and rationalization over emotion, but he never knew how deep their emotions went. How much they still felt even though they choose logic. How much they punished themselves for when they felt anything. How human that almost was. How human all of this was- the fighting over not understanding where the other person was coming from. But, at least the bond gave him a glimpse into the truth Snoon was too scared to admit. The more he could see within her, the more he could understand, the more he was able to calm his own irrational emotions and come to terms with this situation.

“You’ve been through so much. You just need time to process all of it, and you will learn to handle it in the way that makes you feel best. You will be ok,” McCoy reassures Snoon, coming out of his defense mode to be more empathetic with her. “We both got things to work on, and there is no shame in admitting that. Time will help you learn to heal, and to become stronger. Just gotta keep going, and take it a day at a time.

"And for now, as long as you are here, in this bond with me and in my quarters, I want you to do whatever you need to do to make yourself comfortable here,” he offers to her. It was a small offer, but he hoped it helped. “Anything you want to do with this space to make yourself feel more at home, go ahead. And know I am here with you, I am here to help you. I promise."

"I... thank you. I recognize what a big step this is for you as well. After everything that happened with your ex-wife and suddenly being trapped in a marriage, it is logical that you would be unpleased with everything that is demanded of you from the bond.” Leonard flinches when Snoon brings up his ex-wife, shutting himself down before the pain begins to sting too much. Snoon notices the change in him immediately. "I apologize, do you not wish to talk about that?" Snoon asks him.

He sighs in defeat. "We gotta, huh? It’s not fair to just keep talking about you and bringing up your problems. But Snoon, please recognize this ain’t easy for me neither, for you to just automatically know all the things that hurt me. That glimpse I had into your mind before was the first I have had this entire time. But you have had unfiltered access to my mind from the moment we bonded. You naturally felt afraid when I saw that part of you. But that's exactly how I feel when you have all exclusive access to my mind."

Snoon seems to ponder this. "I understand. I am sorry that you feel so exposed in that manner. I will make an effort to discuss these things with you with more…tact, and to be considerate to your feelings.” 

“Vulcan’s aren’t typically so flexible with emotion, right?”

“Typically not. I do remember quite well many of Sarek’s and Amanda’s fights being about a similar subject matter, and Amanda being quite…vocal, and expressive with her displeasure. Michael also had many issues with feeling that her thoughts and emotions were not heard by those closest to her. So, since I am bonded to a human it would be logical to remain mindful of your need for emotional validation and consideration. It is always best to learn and improve from the mistakes of our elders.”

“Ok. And in exchange, I swear I will… remain mindful of your need to practice logic, and try to remain flexible with this bond as much as I can. But, logically,” he says purposefully, “it’s gonna take me time.” 

Snoon quirks a brow up at his choice of words. “Of course, Leonard. And you will not have to live this way for long. It is only for the time being, anyway,” she concurs with him, looking away.

It kind of sounded a little sad, and like wedding vows to Leonard’s ears, which he repressed the nervous shiver that wanted to roll through him at the thought. But, Snoon was right, it was all just for the time being and would be over before they both knew it.


	18. Stoaking the Flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another look into how bonded life is treating Snoon and Leonard. Being forced into a marriage is never easy, especially a psychic marriage. What would be easier, rejecting it completely or accepting and working with it? We'll see what decision they come to as time goes on. But at least their loved ones are there to help them (??) along the way.
> 
> Personal note, I am so excited we have finally gotten to this part of the series! Everything has progressed so beautifully, and now I feel we are finally at the point where the story reaches its climax on multiple story-fronts. I am so excited to get these next chapters out and am feeling so inspired and driven to make this story the best it can be. Thank you all for the amazing support along this journey.  
> rating: M  
> warnings: a bit of arguing, Snoon and Leonard getting frisky

The first day back on shift, McCoy felt torn. And he hated that he felt this torn. 

The MedBay was his home, his domain, the place where he was in charge and able to do his best work. He felt like things were finally back to normal- being cleared to go back to his work and to be back in the MedBay as a doctor. He felt like it was his grounding and his escape.

But, what he was trying and hoping to escape was currently in the MedBay with him. And in his quarters. And in his bed. God, why did he get married--bonded--again? 

Snoon was not doing anything upsetting or agitating at all, honestly. Just sitting there, quietly, a few feet away from McCoy. At all times. He was feeling major anxiety and sensory overload, it was becoming too much and never let up. And he knew that she could sense his distress over the bond. She had tried sending him calming waves over the bond, which he knew she was doing to be a good bondmate, but it just made him feel even more upset so she stopped a while ago. He just needed normalcy, to feel he could go back to how things were before. And this was far from it.

Constantly having the presence and awareness of another person in his mind, someone else knowing his every thought and emotion. Having to change his entire world around to fit into the bond's demands. Anywhere he went in the MedBay, Snoon had to be right there with him. It was only a few days after they had bonded so the distance between them could be no farther than the other room. When he was seeing patients, she had to stay right outside the room. When he was talking with other doctors, she had to pretend not to listen to confidential information. 

He tried to be understanding in the beginning, but all of this began to settle ok with him less and less as time dragged on. The more time he spent bonded the more questions and insecurities arose around it. He didn't even have the nerve or repose to tell Jo about this. He purposefully avoided telling her about it when they spoke last, because he didn't want to drag her into the confusing mess, especially since it was only temporary. Leonard felt partially guilty about it when Snoon was around for the call, but she had told him she understood and told him he should handle sharing the news however he needed to. He was thankful to her for that. 

He was relieved things were slow right now so she didn't have to be involved in anything major. Since they were just en route to the Canis Galaxy right now, no one was doing anything dangerous enough to get sent to MedBay beyond routine appointments. 

That was when Scotty rushed into his MedBay, carrying an ensign over his shoulder as they both hobbled towards him.

"Doctor, please help the lad! Ensign Gregory; he was assisting me on a recalibration of a Jeffery tube and fell. Clean snapped his arm and he can't walk." As Scotty speaks McCoy and Nurse Chapel push over a gurney, pushing the man onto it through his howls of pain.

Nurse Chapel quickly dons gloves so she can pick up the ensign's arm to examine it. "Open compound fracture. The radial bone is protruding from the skin, and the arm is filling up with blood; I don't feel a pulse in the wrist and fingers."

McCoy feels around at the Ensign's pelvis, feeling the misconnection of bones and tendons in wrong places. "He has an anterior hip dislocation," McCoy determines by the feel and location of his bruises and bone fracture. "We will need to take him into surgery right away to fix the hip and repair the bone and blood vessels in his arm. Nurse, please get the OR ready. I am going to need to repair this arm now before the limb goes gangrene." Nurse Chapel is off before he can even finish his thoughts, though he did not truly expect her to stick around for his ramblings anyhow. She was a proficient and intelligent woman who already knew what needed to be done. McCoy sends Scotty off to the waiting room with the promise he would let him know the moment the Ensign was in recovery. Gearing himself up, already mentally performing the surgery in his mind, he heads off towards the OR. 

A sensation, just a tiny pulling at his attention, alerts him of Snoon’s presence behind him. McCoy screeches to a halt so fast that if she were a human she would have run into his broad back. He turns and looks down at her with perplexed emotions written all over his face.

"What are you doing?"

"Since the operation room is isolated into a separate room, there is nowhere for me to wait nearby. I must go in with you," she explains.

"Not a chance, Snoon. The OR is a sterile environment and I cannot risk having you in there while I have him open on the table. You need to stay out here," he says, moving them both off to the side so the nurses could start bringing equipment through.

Snoon attempts to explain to him, "If I am not in that room with you, you will start having psychic pains from straining the bond. It will compromise your work."

"I can handle a few headaches," he says, continuing on over her. "What I cannot handle is risking the patient’s health with having you in there."

"Leonard this is not an argument or a question. For the bond to settle as quickly as possible we must allow it to take its course."

"Snoon, I have more than understanding and accommodating about the bond up to this point, but I will not bend on this. I cannot run my OR by a bond. I am a doctor, not an old-time housewife." 

"And you think being dejected to being forced to wait outside like your pet is not cruel?” she counters harshly. “Just so I can soothe the needs of your human ego?" 

No more words needed to be said after that. You could feel Leonard's anger pulsating over the bond. "I can't talk about this now, Snoon. Leave. Now."

"Leonard, I cannot--"

"Get the hell out of my MedBay! Now!" McCoy yells. Snoon continues to stand there and he just turns to stomp into his OR and leave the conversation behind him.

Snoon knew that was the "end of discussion" for her unreasonable and illogical bondmate. She had heard of times when Amanda would storm off from Sarek in this manner as well. Snoon decides it was only logical to adhere to your bondmate's wishes for now, and hope he would come to his senses sooner rather than later. Snoon walks out of the MedBay, making her way down the hall towards the turbolift around the corner. She could feel the stares boring into her from crew members she passed, but she kept her wits about her as she makes her way past them without a glance. Snoon knew the rumors they were discussing. Humans had such a strange propensity to gossip. Somehow, it brought them pleasure. Some primitive behaviors humans would never be able to transcend.

Once the turbolift opens for her, she stands inside, hands firmly clasped behind her back as she waits for the doors to close and the lift to start. A few straggling crew members begin to approach, stopping in their tracks once they notice Snoon inside and nervously slow their pace to avoid making it to the lift before the doors slide shut on them both. But Snoon didn't attempt to hold the door open for them either; just quirking a brow at their illogical behavior. She knew from her studies of the human mind's disposition to make stereotypes to quickly label its environment. Whether it was out of laziness, evolution or the pleasure derived from a more scandalous version of the truth, humans unconsciously and consciously clung to this pattern of thinking even after centuries of other cognitive and social advancement. Snoon found it equal parts fascinating and frustrating. She thinks to herself that she must ask Spock how he handles being around such illogical creatures all the time.

"Bridge," Snoon calls out for the turbolift to run. It kicks into gear immediately, taking her straight up to the Bridge without stopping. When the doors slide open, she comes across a quiet scene- all of the crew busily working at their stations as stars gently fly by across the view screen. It was a tranquil scene, and a spark of rightness goes off inside of her as she watches it. Snoon instinctively tries to step forward, but holds herself back and remembers her Starfleet etiquette. Snoon kept it memorized in her mind all those years in the cell, the last of her hope. 

"Captain, permission to come aboard?" Snoon asks from the turbolift. Jim turns around in his chair to face her, smile breaking on his face upon noticing it was Snoon.

"Snoon! Please, come on in," Jim welcomes her excitedly as he gets up to approach her. Once he is close, he leans in to Snoon’s side to whisper to her, "How are you doing? Is it alright for you to be this far from Bones? Is he ok?"

"Doctor McCoy is currently in surgery with an ensign from engineering," Snoon tells the captain, not lowering her voice for the curious ears surrounding them both. "Since I am not permitted into the operating room, he has instructed me to find somewhere else to wait while he finishes the procedure. I believe his exact words were to 'get the hell out of his sickbay'. I decided to make my way up here to the Bridge."

Jim seems to digest the information easily, nodding along as she speaks. He breaks out into an unusual smile once she finishes her explanation. "Now, that wouldn't happen to be because my Bridge is one of the farthest points on the ship from MedBay, would it?" Jim asks her cheekily.

"That fact is purely coincidence, and unfounded speculation on your part, Captain," Snoon informs him with a quirk of her pointed brow, and walks past him. He watches Snoon make her way to Uhura's station with an unfiltered smile on his face. Jim wondered if all Vulcans were so sassy. 

When the other sassy Vulcan on the Enterprise steps off the turbolift and onto the bridge, he immediately walks up to Jim's side.

"Why is Snoon on the bridge? And where is Doctor McCoy?" Spock asks him for clarification.

"She and Bones are having a lover's spat," Jim answers cheekily. Spock quirks his brow in amusement at his friend's answer. "They won't get hurt by this, right Spock?" Jim whispers to him.

"No, Jim. There will be some discomfort that will develop because of the psychic strain, but the doctor and Snoon will not be put at risk. More than they are causing themselves." And leaves it at that before walking over to his station. Kirk heads back to his chair, making a little note of the time in his mind to see how long this game would last.

* * *

 

It was just a few hours later that Snoon was bound to a chair by Spock's station, piercing headaches penetrating through her skull. It was all she could do to keep her expression in control and body sitting up straight. Spock noticed as he sat beside her, but did not mention it. But he knew it was nearing the point where she would not be able to control the pain any longer.

She could sense when her bondmate was coming, and it was a flood of relief to her frayed system. Snoon was out of her seat even before the turbolift opens, alerting Spock and Uhura and Jim to something happening. When the turbolift opens and a flushed, disgruntled looking McCoy stumbles out, it all makes sense to them. It takes him a moment of harsh panting before he can form his words.  
"Get the hell back in my MedBay...now!" 

"Yes, Leonard," Snoon answers, rushing to his side immediately. She places his arm over her shoulders, to hold him up and help guide him into the lift and to have close contact with her bondmate. Snoon tried to ignore the way the bond lit up like a roaring fire in the back of your mind.

When the turbo lift closes on an amused and confused Bridge crew, they both stand there in a long moment of silence, just leaning and relaxing into each other. Attempting to regain control of their bodies and breathing. "Now do you understand why we must adhere to the bond?" Snoon asks him chastisingly. He just looks down at her from the corner of his eye in agitation.

"You're not even gonna try to hide your satisfaction from teaching me a lesson, huh?" he growls, pulling Snoon to crash against his lips with his fingers tangled in her hair, the primal drive for closeness and unification even affecting him. Snoon latches onto him just as hard; wrapping herself around him to pull him taught against her so she could feel every of inch of his warm, broad body. A part of her Vulcan mind protested to kissing this way, but her blood boiled under her skin at the feeling of such closeness, connection, of consuming him. The seconds between their kisses were too long to be away from her bondmate, the need for him becoming more important to her body than air. Snoon could feel his own desire building along with her own through the bond and it wanted to make her scream out in on pure delight. 

The touching served as both a reaffirming action and a soothing ointment over the strained bond. When he starts feeling this relief, Leonard gains enough sense of himself to break away from her lips to stop the turbolift. He then turns his attention down to Snoon, brushing locks of her hair behind her pointed ear. She couldn't place the emotion behind the gesture, or the heavy look in his gentle hazel eyes. She was unfamiliar with the feelings it brought up in her as well. 

Some gravitational force brought his lips and hands back against her, touching and grasping any part of her that they could caress, and Snoon purred in fulfillment when he finally pushed the two of them to the floor.


	19. The Art of Peace-Making

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO'S BACK?! BACK AGAIN!!
> 
> Final exams are now over and done with, so I am back to being able to think of anything besides psychological research methods and statistics. Including our favorite space , so here are two new chapters of New Horizons for everyone! These next few chapters have to do with Leonard and Snoon, plus we finally get to take a bit more of a look at the Canis Avengers and Snoon's past with them. Nothing too graphic though.
> 
> **EDIT: In the first posting of this chapter, I accidentall wrote Captain Oban's name as 'Orbo'. So sorry about the mixup and any confusion on it. 'Orbo' was the other name I was playing with for the character once upon a time, so slip up on my part.
> 
> Rating: M  
> Warning: mentions of past physical/sexual abuse, mentions of slave cell, mentions of violence, plans for battle

"No! No, I am telling you! Based on their patterns of attack from the previous altercation, they will try to incapacitate our ships without directly attacking us. They are fearful of the Federation; they will want to appear bigger than us, like a frightened animal. They will try to debilitate us before we can do anything so then they will have the satisfaction of seeing us weakened and vulnerable. We need to go into this with a defensive strategy: focus on protecting our ships until we can get through to them and negotiate," Ahmad argues, raising her voice to be heard over Captain Oban's rebuttal on the monitor. All of the captains were currently in conference, Jim sitting back and listening to their opinions and expectations of what they would come up against once they dropped from warp in the Canis Galaxy. Right now, it was mainly Ahmad and Oban arguing on whether they needed to take more of an offensive or defensive approach when trying to prepare for battle with the Canis Avengers again.

"That would be leaving us completely vulnerable to their strike, just letting them have the upper hand from the start. Their methods before were just an intimidation tactic- a warning sign. Since we are choosing to ignore that warning, we need to expect that this time they will not hold back and will attack with everything they have to destroy us. So, we need to be the ones to incapacitate their ships first before we can get them to listen to us."

"Blowing them up will not get them to listen to us; that will just make them even more fearful of us. Dominance is not the way to win their trust," Ahmad points out to him.

"And just rolling over and exposing our bellies for them to get to will be?" Oban counters, a bit intensely. Before Ahmad can respond to that jab, Drake cuts in with a different idea.

"We know at this point all they truly want is to see the Federation destroyed and keep us out of their territory. We do not even know if they will accept our offer of peace, or will just use this as an opportunity to extract some kind of revenge. I think the attack or defense focus is the wrong way to go about this; having our weapons and shields raised will only alarm them and give them the wrong impression. We need to get directly to their leader, whoever is the grand master of this group, and plead out our case with them. Hopefully our show of more ship's will convince them of our sincerity with what we are saying."

Both Ahmad and Oban turn their outrage to him at that idea. "That's crazy!"

"Completely unrealistic!" Oban also scoffs out in rejection.

"I have to agree with them on this, Captain Drake. I already attempted the 'we come in peace' tactic and look where it got us," Jim cuts in, keeping his tone neutral. "But I do like your idea of finding their leader."

"You do not believe the captain of the Adhara was the leader?"

"No. By the way Hassarah was speaking, he was only the captain of his own ship, and that means there is someone with a bigger role manipulating all of this. Most likely a Solaran, since they rule the galaxy. If we can win over the leader, hopefully we can win the entire group."

"Even so, we still need to come up with a strategy of how to contain any sort of conflict with the Avengers until they are willing to listen to us," Captain Ahmad fills in the space.

"We need to learn from our mistakes. Let’s think about that altercation again, think of what we missed with it. Ahmad is right, they tried the debilitation tactic before they are afraid of us. They want us gone. But who is to say after that, they will not escalate to trying to completely obliterate us to remove the danger all together?" Kirk analyzes Oban's train of thought in his own mind. "However, the question that Drake poses is also correct: how do we get them to lower their defenses enough to get them to listen to us? To believe the aide we are trying to offer them is sincere?"

"Don't you have someone on your ship that is familiar with these species? The Vulcan girl? Can't you have her assist us in coming up with a tactic to gain their trust?" Drake suggests. Jim perks up at that suggestion.

"That is a smart idea. Luckily, she has a vast background in xenoanthropology as well. I will need to find a way to ask her if she is comfortable sharing some of her insights with us. For now, I am going to follow with Captain Ahamad's idea: we need to head there on the defensive. Protect ourselves until we can teach through to them.

"And if they refuse to listen?" Captain Oban asks. Kirk pauses before he speaks, hating his own words as they come out.

"Then we know our ship's will have the fire power to eliminate the danger before it escalates out of our control."

* * *

Snoon’s mind was wide awake before her body was. Even though Snoon’s body was telling her it needed more time to rest, her mind was already up and thinking of the day ahead. She was becoming used to anxiety in her body- Leonard was right, it was only natural, and the only logical way to deal with it was to accept that and work with it, to rationalize it. Her mind was restless with ideas and anticipation for the day ahead of her. Snoon tried to remain logical with it, of course, but nothing could restrain her excitement about getting to go to the Anthropology department on the ship today. It was a simple meeting, only to help fill in a few blanks for the databases, but it was a chance to work with Starfleet on learning about the culture of another race, exactly what she studied to do with Starfleet. It was finally giving her the chance to be herself again, instead of just the victim, instead of just a wife.

Snoon’s bonding to Leonard was not easy. It was not hard or horrible union, but it was...different, being bonded only in name alone. Vulcan's were not used to such impersonal bonds, and bonds that had so much friction. The two of them as individuals had vastly different values and ideologies that she lived by, which made a union very hard. It was constant work and compromise on both of their parts, work just to find neutral ground to keep things peaceful between them. And that was a lot more difficult since Snoon had not been moved out of his quarters- the law of Starfleet recognizing them as married and having to keep them in the same quarters until the bond could be broken. At Leonard's request Jim had tried to find another room for Snoon to use as a guest, but all of the guest and diplomat rooms were locked and would not grant her access due to her marital status with the Federation. Leonard had a lot to say about that, minimally stating that technology was too smart for its own damn good.

Since Snoon and Leonard were finally past the settling part of the bond, they had finally been able to sleep in different areas of his quarters. Most nights Snoon took the bed, especially on nights he worked the later shift and would just sleep on his cot in the office. On nights he had to work early or had appointments, she would take the couch. Other than that, Snoon did not see too much of Leonard. 

They had come to a fair impasse about her not interrupting him while he was working in the MedBay. That was his space, and she acknowledged and respected that. Snoon had taken the free time to meditate and reground herself for the first time since the bond had been formed. The bond was now just a small entity in the back of her mind- small enough to leave be but always present. Parted and never parted... Snoon also built the wall between her and Leonard's mind. His thoughts and emotions were now private. It was abnormal for Vulcan's to keep a shield up on the bond past childhood, especially the bond was fully developed, but it was what her bondmate wished. Snoon was still uncertain if these behaviors he evoked from her were from the influence of the bond or her own desires.  
Outside of being bonded, Snoon and Leonard were not close. She knew him intimately, seeing all of his mind and soul through the bond, but knowing someone and wanting to know someone were completely different sentiments. They were not friends. They were polite and cordial to each other, attentive and considerate even, but it was no more than he would treat a patient. There were times with the way he would initiate arguments, the differences between Vulcan's and Humans- especially this particular human- being very vast and not easy to immediately understand. But, at least those were staring to decrease. Time naturally helped the two of them to understand each other more and more each day and the fights would lessen. They may have not exactly liked each other yet, but they were coming to trust and rely on each other. They could at least live their lives together this way.

Any quality time Snoon and Leonard spent together was mainly when they were both in his quarters or when they both were invited to dine or "chill" with Spock and Jim. The night prior, when Snoon and Leonard had attended dinner in the mess with Nyota and Spock, they filled the both of them in on the details of what occurred during the meeting with the Fleet Admirals.

_"You've gotta be kidding me," Leonard just gapes when Nyota is done explaining._

_"Sadly not. The admirals are serious about their threat, and wanting to cover this up as quietly and quickly as possible. I'm surprised they aren't going to execute Keeton too just to make sure the story never gets out," Nyota grumbles, just picking at her curry on her plate._

_"So that's why Jim made that speech in the mess? Because Starfleet is trying to force us to stay away and stay quiet while all of this is going on?"_

_"Because the admirals are trying to cover up and ignore an issue the Federation essentially started, and would rather see millions die than to admit to mistakes of the Federation's past. Jim will not allow any of that to happen," Spock explains it all out._

_"Yeah, I know where that kid is comin' from. It's messed up on so many levels. And messed up they're gonna try to threaten and punish us for doing the right thing," Leonard replies, turning to look at Snoon at his side with a melancholy look. Snoon keeps quiet, feeling that this was not her place to comment on._

_"They will not succeed. We will use this opportunity to save the Canis people and simultaneously expose the corruption in the Federation so it can be stopped."_

_"None of that is gonna be easy though," Leonard grumbles dejectedly, taking a huge slurp of his stew for something to take the edge off._

_"No, but when has galactic peace ever been easy? Just like Jim said, it's gonna take all of us together to pull it off," Nyota comments to Leonard. He nods and makes a noise of agreement. Spock turns to Snoon then._

_"Snoon, would you feel amenable to come with me to my debrief with the Anthropology department tomorrow?" he mentions suddenly. "They have a lot of questions about the Canis races, and they would find your insight and experience with these beings very helpful. We want to devise a plan on approaching negotiation of truce and trust with the Avengers before we next meet them. Knowing their backgrounds will give us an advantage to figuring out the best course of action."_

_Snoon immediately shuts down the excitement that flares in her system and try to be calm in her response. "That is logical. I would be honored to be of assistance in this matter."_

_"That sounds like a perfect plan," Nyota says with an elated smile, for her sake._

_"Then, I will come by your quarters at 0900 hours, and we shall head down to the department together."_

The time was now 08:40 as Snoon looked at the clock on the wall. Leonard's alarm had already gone off, and by the patterns she observed of him lying in bed and hesitating to get up for up to 15 minutes, she deduces he should be up any moment. Snoon takes the food off the stove to put on a plate, and carries the miscellaneous dishes of fresh food around the island to place them out.  
Leonard strolls into the living area then, rubbing at his eyes and unable to hold back his yawns. 

"Good morning Leonard. I have already prepared breakfast for us," Snoon informs him, gesturing for him to take a seat at the island.

"Wow. Um, thank you Snoon. That's very nice of 'ya." He sits down on the tall stool, seeing the elaborate breakfast splayed out in front of him- egg white omelet, whole wheat toast and fresh fruit slices. He notices her breakfast to his left on the island- some interesting looking vegetable soup served along with some fresh rolls of grain bread.

"This all looks freshly made, not replicated,” he notices. “You weren't up super early to do this, were you?"

Snoon speaks to him over her shoulder as she cleans the pans and utensils in the sink. "The ingredients are replicated and I just prepared them. I attained the required hours of sleep for my physiology. I simply desired to gain an early start today." Leonard nods in understanding as he cuts off a piece of his omelet with his fork and stuffs the whole bite into his mouth. He hums in contentment as he chews and eagerly cuts into it more- all of which she notices- and he waits until he swallows to start talking to her again.

"So, you have that big meeting today with Spock and the Anthropology department," Leonard brings up, trying to spark some conversation besides polite small talk.

Snoon looks at him inquisitively as she sits down next to him. "Is that a statement or question, Leonard?" she asks for clarification before taking a spoonful of her soup.

"It's an offer for you to tell me a bit about where your head is at right now. Are you looking forward to it? What exactly do you think they will ask you about?" he explains the open-ended statement to her.

"The anthropology department will mainly be looking for information on the culture of the Canis beings- their belief systems, their practices, how their societies are structured and governed. They will also be wanting to study how advanced their civilization is. All of this will give us clues on how to approach them on their level and come to an impasse without offending or harming their ways. As anthropologists, we seek to understand, not to change; we will leave them to live their lives as they see fit. It will also help us to introduce them to the Federation, especially after all that has happened between our galaxies."

"That sounds like a big role. It's a good thing we have you to help out with this mission," Leonard comments, honestly but purposefully to lift her spirits. Snoon’s cheeks become warm like embers as she looks down at her soup. Leonard notices this change and prompts for her to continue speaking when she remains silent for a long while. "The bond is blocked now; you're going to have to explain to me what your thinkin' sweetheart." Snoon had to hold down the flush of green blood wanting to rise to her face and ears in response to the term. Her logical mind reminded itself that it was only in his southern American nature to use nicknames on others.

"...I never believed I would receive an opportunity like this in my life ever again," Snoon admits, laying everything out on the table with such few words. "I simply wish to make a good impression on the department and to be of as much use as I can be," she tells him that bit more confidently.

"You're looking forward to the meeting today though. I get it. This is your first chance to work in your field with Starfleet, it is exciting stuff. I'm happy for you. There is nothing to be nervous about, Snoon. You are intelligent and will be a great asset to the team. They will be glad to have you around," he speaks genuinely, and a flood of warmth radiates from her side of the bond in the back of her mind, even through the block she had put over it. 

The bond was strong, and deeply woven into her katra, seeking to be acknowledged and actualized. It called to her. He needed to know, to understand the meaning of all of this too. Snoon needed him to know. 

"Leonard--"

Before she can get the words out, the chime to her quarters alerts them both of a guest. 

"That's gotta be Spock; early if not punctual,” Leonard jokes. “Let me get that. You go ahead and finish eating," Leonard offers her, getting up from his seat and making his way over to the door. Snoon hears the two men chatting in the background as she finish the last of her rolls, and pick up your bowl to take to the sink.

"Here, Snoon, you can leave that in there. You just head off with Spock and I can do the dishes once I am done with breakfast," Leonard says when he notices what she was doing. It takes her a moment before she stops what she was doing and just gently sets the plates down into the sink.

Snoon makes her way over towards Spock as she continues to speak to Leonard. "Thank you, Leonard. Then, Spock and I shall depart for our meeting," she tells him.

"Alright. By the time I am off shift you will most likely be asleep, so message me after it is over and let me know how it goes, ok?" Leonard asks her with a sincere, interested look on his face. It caused Snoon’s heart to stutter in her side.

Her cheeks were dusted with green as she mutters out to him, "I will do so," and quickly walks out of the room. Spock follows along right behind her, who does not speak until they were out of ear shot of Leonard's quarters.

"You prepared breakfast for the doctor?" Spock asks puzzled.

"It is only logical to be a courteous guest while I am staying in his quarters," Snoon uses to explain herself. And with no logical argument to combat that, Snoon and Spock walk in silence to the turbolift and down Anthropology department. 

The anthropology department on the Enterprise was a large office space with many mini offices within it, and one large conference table in the main room where everyone would come together to discuss upcoming projects and missions. Snoon’s body became jittery with excitement when she entered the room, which her mind stepped in to suppress just as a petite blond woman steps up to her and the commander. 

"Hello there, you must be Snoon? I am Lieutenant Carolyn Palamas," she introduces herself, and holds up the Vulcan salute. Snoon reciprocates in kind. "We are very thankful that you agreed to assist with this mission. We could not be more relieved to be able to gain some first-hand insight into the culture of the Canis beings. Captain Kirk hopes it will help in coming up with a plan to settle the conflict with those Canis Avengers," Carolyn explains as she guides her and Spock over to a couple seats at the end of the long table. Spock pulls out the seat for Snoon, and she sits and responds to Carolyn's praises.

"I am... it is my pleasure to be able to assist with this mission. I hope the information I have collected on these beings over the years will prove to be useful in negotiating peace with the Avengers," Snoon tells her, turning her attention away from the sad smile Carolyn offers Snoon and noticing from the corner of her eye a few more officers dressed in red and blue moving towards the table.

"Ah, let me introduce you to a few people. My assistants, Ensigns Georgia and B'Ghim,” she gestures to the pair of humans. “Also, Lieutenant Terrunga: my archeology and old civilizations expert,” she points out the tall orange woman with the bright smile. “They are experts in their respected fields and part of the team I have assembled to help arrange this negotiation. They will be the ones asking you questions to help us fill in the gaps of information about these beings for our databases.”

Snoon nods her head in acknowledgement and they all take seats at the table- the two ensigns on her right and the two lieutenants to her left.

"So, from what we already know about these beings, the... 'Solarans'," one of the ensigns reads off the PADD in his hand, "are the leaders of this group and the galaxy, correct?" 

"Yes. The Solarans are the oldest civilization in the galaxy. They have ruled over the other worlds and kept the galaxy united for thousands of years. As a civilization, they are more advanced than any of the other worlds around them, but they are a progressive society- only using their scientific and technological gain for understanding and advancement, not for anything violent. They do not even have guns on their planet. The weaponry that the Canis Avengers use are their most advanced developments in weaponry; many of the men running the space cell continuously bragged about the progress they were making." 

Snoon thinks of any of the times she had seen the Solarans at the slave camps- which was very rarely- and how ethereal they were. They were always so refined, speaking and carrying themselves with thousands of years of experience and power. All of the other creatures from their galaxy would gather around them and practically fall at their feet, worshiping them and clinging to everything the Solarans said and did. They looked over their people as precious subjects, and over her and the other slaves as livestock, prizes of conquest- all of the them underneath the Solarans. But, they were never on the frontlines with managing the cells or the kidnappings, they always took more of an executive stance with this cause. Watching and organizing the cells from a distance.

"And since the Solarans lead the galaxy, do you believe they are leading this vendetta as well?" the orange woman asks Snoon in thick accent while she was still in thought. 

"I believe they are,” Snoon tells Terrunga, still partially in her daze. “The Solarans are a peaceful rulers, but have an immense amount of pride. My hypothesis- in light of the recent facts provided by Admiral Keeton- is that once the Federation took advantage of their people, of the Solarans themselves, their pride was wounded. The Solarans could have formed the Canis Avengers and formed the slave cells for revenge purposes."

"So, besides kidnapping the beings of the Federation and enslaving them, do you have any ideas to why they never attempted to attack the Federation directly?" Spock asks from her side. Snoon turns to him, sharing a perturbed look as her answer.

"Because they are blinded by their pride and rage, but they are not unintelligent beings. They know their technology and fleet are no match for the Federation and Starfleet. They have passed down the stories of Starfleet's corrupt ways and power. It is an old horror story they tell many times over to remind their people about the evils of the Federation- to remind them to be fearful and to spur them on to retaliate in the ways they could. Such as building the slave camps."

"And that is why they chose to chase us off instead of trying to kill us. And why they do not want us in their galaxy at all," one of the ensigns summarizes. Snoon nods in agreement.

"I believe they are simply trying to protect their own kind. They fear the Federation's reign more than they do death itself. And they would rather see the entire galaxy parish than to accept help from the Federation." Everyone goes solemnly silent at that revelation. 

"So, let's regroup as to why we’re here, and talk shop on these beings themselves. The Solarans...they are the ancient beings of the galaxy. Prideful, intelligent, the ones who keep the galaxy together. They are the ring leaders. But, we have not met one yet," Lieutenant Palamas reiterates.

"When we ran into the ship 'Adhara', we met Captain Hassarah," Lieutenant Terrunga follows after. "Big blue guy, multiple arms, tentacle- like hair. What can you tell us about their race?"

"They are called 'Hai'sh'tus'. They are an island race- their planet is composed of 90% water. High society members build their temples near the ocean on land, and majority live in cities built in the cliffs under the ocean. Their blue skin helps them to blend into the water, for hunting their food in the oceans and protection from larger animals hunting them. They live very simply, and are very close and protective members of their families and tribes. They usually do not travel or live alone." Snoon had heard many stories the Hai'sh'tus told of their home world over the years. And she picked up early on how they were never far from each other or any of the other Canis races in the cells.

The officers collectively nod along in understanding. "Their loyalty to their planet and galaxy would be great fuel to be so protective and lash out against anything they perceive as a threat. So, we just need to show these guys- and Captain Hassarah- that we are just as dedicated to protecting them as well," Lieutenant Palamas speculates, her delicate face scrunched in concentration as she thinks.

"What about that gremlin-like creature that was on the Adhara? It was definitely more interested in killing us than that Captain was," one of the ensigns recalls.

"Gremlin-like creature?" Snoon asks for clarification.

"Yeah. Stained skin like old parchment paper and black markings. Really short and lean with pointed ears and fangs," the other ensign chimes in.

"Yes. Those would be the 'Kebb’dians'. They are a most... brutal species," Snoon says with that distant tone of voice. "They are mountain dwellers, carnivores and predators. Their development has not surpassed more primal nature and drives. They find the hunt and play... pleasurable. They share their world with the 'Andarans'. The two species are very close, with the 'gremlins' being the submissive species due to lower mental capacity. It would make sense why one of these beings was serving under the Hai'sh'tu." 

"And they're a part of this vendetta because...?"

"Most likely because everyone else is. And because they would see the battles as fun," Snoon explains. One of the ensigns physically shivers in disgust.

Terrunga begins to speak, everyone not sure if she is speaking to them or herself. "So... revenge, pride, loyalty, the thrill. There are multiple reasons they are wanting this battle to happen, and multiple reasons they would not want to put a stop to it or not listen to us. So, we need a plan that will neutralize all these charges at once. Or least get the leader over to our side, who is most likely a Solaran."

"That is a logical deduction,” Spock says. 

"And so the way to pacify the leader would be to soothe their wounded pride,” one of the ensigns supplies.

"Any suggestions on the best way to do that, Snoon?" Lieutenant Palamas turns to her exclusively to ask. Snoon’s breath gets caught in her throat from being put on the spot so suddenly. 

"There are many extraneous variables that cannot be accounted for in this situation, so I cannot answer with certainty on what plan of action would be the correct plan to follow,” Snoon begins. However, she feels Spock’s intense gaze on her, and something encouraging in his eyes prompted her to keep going. 

“But, I believe the only way to reach the Solaran leader is to make them feel like they have all the control. They need to feel like they are above the Federation, put them in a position of power so they do not feel trapped or vulnerable. We need to present ourselves in a way that will not trigger them to shut down and go on the defensive, we need them to keep open to our aid- and the way to do that is to keep their pride inflated. They will need to feel that they have the upper-hand at all times. You need to make them believe they are making the call to allow the Federation to help their galaxy,” Snoon explains, analyzing the patterns she had picked from these beings over the years in her mind as you turn them into ideas to vocalize. If there was any hope of this working, of finally ending all of this horror, it would mean having to gain the Solarans favor. Which sickened her in the stomach, but Snoon kept the bigger picture in her mind. 

"That makes sense. I believe all of this information will help command to make the best plan that we can to gain the Canis Avengers trust. All of this information has been tremendously helpful. Georgia and B'Ghim, please enter these notes into the database. Terrunga, finish up that geographical analysis on those planets and have them on my desk by Beta shift. Commander, we will pass along these species analysis' to the crew and the plan to the Captain," Lieutenant Palamas says to Spock as she stands up. The motion cues everyone else to stand as well, and Spock turns to Snoon when he stands.

"I must report back to the Bridge now," he informs her, but still lingers for a second longer. Snoon stands there with him, unsure of what he was waiting for. "Your insight was thorough and will prove to be valuable for this mission, Snoon," he tells her. 

"Thank you, Spock," she replies, feeling speechless. Then he turns to leave the room, and many of the officers head back into their offices, leaving Snoon and the Lieutenant alone. Palamas comes over and sits in the chair next to Snoon, turning it to face her directly.

"You know... Commander Spock told me you got your degree in Anthropology on Vulcan," she leans in and begins to say. "And he told me about your interest in serving in Starfleet. You might want to look into transferring some of those credits to Starfleet again; you might already have enough to become a cadet. Might just need to brush through a couple Starfleet training courses, but that doesn't need to be taken at the academy per say." As she rambles on, noticeably becoming more flustered as she hints towards something discreet, Snoon raises a brow at Carolyn in response. She seems to get Snoon’s hint to 'get to the point'.

"Look, what I am getting at here is, I would be honored to write you a recommendation letter to get you onto a ship... or onto this ship, specifically. If you are interested in serving in my anthropology department. Just think about it."

With nothing more to say, she walks away, leaving Snoon alone in her seat with thousands of rushing thoughts.


	20. What Dreams Are Made Of

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm a romantic at heart. I have had this chapter planned out for a while now, I just wanted to give the couple a chance to really connect and have a genuine moment together. So, this is kind of more of an interlude/highlight chapter. I feel like this would be the best way for them to learn to understand each other and be there for each other when they needed it. Anyway, hope everyone enjoys!
> 
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: panic attack tw, mentions of past abuse, mentions of death

It was just a dream, but some days Leonard had a hard time discerning between his nightmares and reality anyway. 

He didn't even know what the dream was about. It was going too fast, unable to understand or figure out what was going on or what was happening. But he knew that something was horribly wrong, and there was nothing he could do about it, which pierced him right in the heart even in a dream. 

Panic and fear grips at his core, making his heart race and body jerk to try to escape it. He had the heavy weight all around him, the feeling of being helpless and hopeless sinking him down into unescapable darkness. 

Even his dreams weren't safe, nothing was fucking safe. He couldn’t do anything to make it all stop. Faces flash across his vision- familiar, distant, never forgotten. Faces of pain, faces of suffering, faces of loss. His heart broke in his chest the more it pounded away, and it was only when his own screaming pierced his ears and woke him that he realized he was sobbing. 

He takes a moment to pant and try to bring himself back to reality, trying to recognize the room he was in. He glances around the room rapidly, eyes still too blurred to focus on anything in detail. He vigorously wipes away at the tears in his eyes and on his face, both actions leaving his face hot and irritated. Breathe, his mind shouts at him, remember to breathe!

It takes him a long moment, but once he is able to take in a few gulps of air and feel his body again, he turns to climb out of bed and try to stand up on wobbly legs. Once he gets himself stabilized on his nightstand, he slowly makes his way out of his room and towards the kitchenet, seeking out a glass of water. His throat was raw and irritated from all the screaming. His eyes and throat were gonna drive him crazy, he hated when they felt like that. When he walks through the living area, he does not see Snoon on the couch; the couch looked as if it had not been slept in at all even. He ponders this just a bit- mostly feeling relief he wouldn’t have to explain this to her- as he makes his way to the sink, mind still static and foggy from the adrenaline coursing through his veins. His hand could not stop shaking as he turned on the tap or attempted to raise the glass to his lips, only taking as much as he could before he gives up and sets down the glass in frustration. 

His body still felt hyper-sensitive, jumping and shaking at the tiniest of noises he could hear or even at his own thoughts and sensations running through his body. It was torture, and the needless tears were pricking behind his eyes again. Even the silence was driving him mad. Before he could be thrown back fully into panic mode, he hastily makes his way out of his quarters and starts dragging himself down the hall towards the turbolift. Focus on your breathing. Walking would be good to expend the jitters coursing through his muscles. He just needed something to shake off the dream and distract his mind.

He makes his way down the hall until he comes across the turbolift. He figured it would be better to go somewhere private before anyone saw the red and shivering wreck he was. Once he enters to turbolift he sends it up to the floor with the observation decks. Those would be dead at this hour; he could have some peace and quiet to process through all this.

He nearly stumbles and limps his way to the first observation deck in his path, rushing into it as if it were holy sanctuary. The room was cold upon entering it, he wished he had put on a longer sleeve shirt. The only lights were from the stars outside, the room as dark as space itself. The wall right across from the entrance was turned into a large window, and the ceiling above was also turned into a huge computerized observation window, programmed to label stars and constellations and planets. The room was perfectly silent, even with Snoon there, standing alone in front of the observation window.

As the door slides shut behind a stunned Leonard, Snoon turns over her shoulder to identify the source of the noise, and turns fully around upon recognizing him. He looked shaken and clearly distraught, sweat glistening in the light and mouth open to allow little pants to escape through. Snoon could see in his eyes how upset he was, and she had to repress the urge to run to him and console him. 

"Do you require privacy?" she simply asks him instead. Leonard just stands there for a long moment; unable to pinpoint and label exactly what he was needing, feeling so overwhelmed and stressed with her seeing him in this manner. He reaches out for the first tangible thought that crosses his mind.

"I don't know," he answers dejectedly. Snoon can see the panic at his answer around his wide eyes, and she does not push him.

"Would you like to stand here with me until you do?" Snoon invites him instead. From spending so much time around an emotional being as Leonard, she had come to realize how much power his emotions had over him and the best thing she could do was be there for him in those moments in any way he needed.

Leonard just fidgets in place for a moment, rapidly processing and trying to decide what to do before slowly walking forward and joining her at the window. Leonard's mind zones in and out as he watches the stars fly across the window, eyes not truly focusing on any of it but it being enough to keep his mind distracted by processing it. He feels the heat from Snoon beside him, and tears apart himself inside between the ideas of wanting to tell her to go away or wrapping himself around that safe warmth. Luckily, he could not even feel his legs at the moment to move them either way. He is finally able to get his breathing back under control, but he could not stop the buzzing in the back of his mind from the anxiety, from the impressions of the dream, from the blocked bond he knew was still there. Not really finding security in any of it and unsure of himself, he stands there in silence for a long while, new nerves piling on top of other nerves with sharing this awkward, quiet moment with Snoon. 

He decides to say something to break it, to distract them both from his weakness. "Why are you here?" Leonard asks. Snoon does not turn to acknowledge him once he speaks, just keeping her eyes on the soothing glow of the stars as she speaks.

"There were some things I needed to contemplate before I could go to sleep. The stars help me to center myself. You?" she answers a bit vaguely, and then returns the question.

"...bad dream," Leonard also attempts to answer as vaguely as possible.

"I believe your Earth psychologists had created a whole field to deciphering hidden means to dreams. Do you wish to discuss it?"

"Since when are Vulcans interested in human psychology?" he turns with a skeptic brow raised and asks her.

"As a Xenoanthropolgist, it is my job to be versed in the practices of a species. As someone who is bonded to a human, I simply wish to do to assist in alleviating your distress. Would it be better to discuss your dream or do you wish for a distraction?" she asks him, wanting to learn what to best to do to handle a situation like this with him. He just kind of shrugs and deflates at her words.

"I couldn't tell 'ya what it was about even if I wanted to. It was just... a lot of things all at once, I can't even really say what one thing really caused this to happen," he confesses, speaking and thinking of the dream starting to rile him up again. Normally, he was able to rationalize and be aware of his triggers, but this had him feeling on edge and he didn't even know why. It caused him even more nerves.

"I understand," Snoon chimes in blankly, eyes still focused on the stars floating in the abyss outside. "There are many nights, and days, where the faces of my captors still fill my mind. Even though they are not here, but dead or light years away from here, sometimes it still feels as if they never left. As if it is still happening now. Maybe one day I will learn to make peace with them and let them go and move on with my life. Or maybe they will stay with me forever. But, I choose at least to not let them define my life any longer."

He was surprised by the sudden honesty and detail from her. He appreciated it, feeling like he was at least not alone in a moment like this. He also was somewhat happy to learn something more about her, and that she struggled with things like this too. How did she always seem so calm and out together with feeling this torn up and conflicted inside? It made him feel so pathetic, and like he was stuck.

Unconsciously, running off of his impulses alone, Leonard reaches over and grabs her hand, squeezing the tiny hand tightly in his larger hand. She looks up at him, eyes wide and cheeks burning green in embarrassment, when she notices the tears rolling down his cheeks as he continues to look out the window. "I don't know how much longer I can do this," he whispers to her, voice breaking as he speaks the words.

"Just like those moments that haunt you, this moment, too, shall pass," Snoon reassures him. "Just keep breathing. We will stay here until you are ready." He takes a sharp inhale as her reassuring words hit him.

"…Yeah," he breathes on an exhale, shaking and sniffles starting to lessen. He just continues to hold tightly into her hand and he begins to calm, and still holds onto it after he calms. Snoon says nothing the entire time, just keeping her attention on the window and grasping as much of his hand as she could in her own, holding him too. They both just stay there together for an immeasurable amount of time, silently watching the stars go by, hand in hand.


	21. Crash and Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it. It all comes down to this. The climax of our series (well for the Canis aspect of this story anyway). Kirk and Dius, and the rest of the fleet and the Canis Avengers, meet for a final confrontation. It is time for Kirk to plead his case to the Avengers, and we all know it is not going to go down the way they hope. Over the next few chapters, an epic confrontation between the Canis Avengers and the fleet will unfold, and how it will come to be resolved... I can’t begin to tell you honestly.
> 
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: depictions of violence
> 
> **note: in case you missed the news in my last update of this series, I have finally posted chapter 8 of this saga where we meet the Canis Avengers. This is important so you will know the lead Solaran's name is 'Dius' since it is referred to in the next few chapters.

Jim Kirk rose early that morning from a restless night. He showered and dressed and readied himself in a solemn silence, keeping his mind blank and trying not to think too much about what was to come. He needed to keep himself grounded and calm to remain the strong Captain the mission would need today. He took deep breaths as he looked at himself in the bathroom mirror, trying to pump himself up. The power was in his hands, the hands of his crew. He had all of his faith in his crew. No matter what happened, it would all work out alright in the end. He believed that, had to believe that.   
The door to his left opens and pulls his attention to Spock, standing there in the door frame. They shared one of those looks- the ones they had mastered over the years together that says everything they needed to say to each other without any words- and Spock waits patiently for his captain’s command. Kirk flashes a small smile to him, feeling reassured.

"Let's go," he tells him. 

When they arrive to the bridge, everyone is already at their stations, focused on their work. Kirk is happy enough to watch them work, to not disturb this wonderful scene as long as he can until one of the lieutenants notice him. "Captain on the bridge!" a voice calls out, and everyone immediately stands at attention. Kirk takes a second to take it all in- all the faces of- before he dismisses them back to the task at hand. They all go back to their stations, but keep their eyes trained on their leader for their orders. With the encouragement of his crew, he jumps right into it.

"Lieutenant Sulu and Mx. D’Pal, watch over our shields and scanners for any signs of attack. Mr. Spock, keep your eyes open for any activity readings on your scanner. Ensign Brett, forward any urgent messages from the departments directly to my PADD. Mr. Scott, how are our engines looking?" Kirk presses the com on the arm of his chair and asks as he sits. 

"Engines and systems are ready for anyth'n those Aveng'rs got, Cap'n!" Scotty proclaims proudly over the intercom. Jim smiles at that. He swivels around in his chair to face Spock and Uhura at their stations behind him, and flashes the pair a smile. 

"Lieutenant Uhura, send a com out to our fleet," he orders, turning back to the front of the bridge to face the viewscreen as Uhura makes the connection. 

All of the faces of the team- Drake, Adebayo and Ahmad- appear on the screen in sections. All of their looks matched each other- the ‘brave face’ that every captain has to master. Jim acknowledges them. "Captains. How are we all doing this morning?" Kirk asks, trying to low-key gauge where everyone was at.

"Ships are prepped at ready to engage the Canis Avengers, Captain Kirk," Adebayo announces. 

"Scanners show activity right at the edge of the galaxy, Captain Kirk. They are not even attempting to hide themselves from us," Ahmad speaks up on her end to inform him. A grim feeling washes over Kirk, but he could not say he was surprised at this tactic. 

"Well, none of us planned this to be a surprise party anyway," Drake jokes dryly. Jim has to tightly purse his lips to repress a bittersweet smile at that.

"Very well. Have your communications officers keep your com lines open with the Enterprise. Any urgent messages will be fed right to me over the intercom. Run final diagnostics on shields and weapons. And have your crews ready themselves. We drop from warp on my mark."

The others captains cut visual transmission on his cue. The Enterprise crew gets to work at following their captain’s instructions as well.

"Captain; infrared scans received from the USS Farishta. 4 starships of unknown size and capacity detected in the Canis Galaxy past the Monoceros Ring," Spock informs Jim as he analyzes the scans through his scope.

"Reports from Scotty show engines are clear and running perfectly. And shields are at 100%, Captain," Sulu updates him from the console.

"Weapons at the ready, sir," a lieutenant calls out.

"All other ships report the same standings, Captain," Uhura turns and shares the messages she was hearing over her earpiece.

"All right. We are as ready as we are gonna be. Everyone, we drop from warp on my mark," Kirk calls out for his crew and the other crews on the com to clearly hear. Everyone on the Enterprise and the other ships settle themselves in, preparing their stations and mind for dropping from warp. 

“Ready on your mark, Captain,” Sulu calls back to him. Sulu clutches tightly to the thruster in his hand and Kirk clutches tightly onto his chair as he begins the countdown.

“Drop from warp in 5…4…3…2…1. Disengage,” he orders. Kirk does not blink as the streaming lights begin to slow to a halt. More darkness filters through the monitor than light from the stars as the Canis ships come into perfect view. 

Kirk's heart stopped in his chest at the sight. The massive warbird that loomed before their very eyes was as dark as space itself. Their fleet and the other ships that circled carelessly around it were as small as the stars in Earth's night sky in comparison. It extended on for miles in every direction, blocking out everything else around it. It blocked out so much of the light around that no one could even make out any distinguishing features on the ship. But they knew instinctively to fear it.

"Maintain shields! Man all stations! Hold fire until my command!" Kirk shouts from his seat and the ship is on instant alert. Kirk could faintly hear the shouting of similar orders and upset from the other ships, but his attention was focused in on the ships before him. Waiting for them to make some sort of move. He rises from his seat to get closer to the view screen, looking for some sign of life, or weakness from the intimidating ship before him. Nearly in equal parts awe and fear of how massive even the smaller ships of the fleet were. It almost was a testament to how much they truly despised the Federation, and Kirk knew right there and then this would not go well at all.

"Status report," he rasps out from a dry throat.

"All departments are reporting good standing," Sulu informs him, closely watching his captain's back for any signs of trouble.

"No signs of activity or attack from any of the ships, Captain," Mx. D’Pal calls out. 

"All fleet ships report the same, Captain," Uhura tells him.

"Captain Ahmad," Kirk shouts loud enough for the com to pick up. "Your ship has the most advanced tactical instrumentation on it. Can your scanners determine how many lifeforms are on those ships?" he asks. Everyone holds their breaths in silence until Ahmad speaks up over the comm.

"Too many to determine a proper number right now, Captain Kirk. The large ship alone, I would estimate over 3000," she replies in monotone voice. Everyone on the bridge gives varied horrified expressions at that ghastly answer.

"Ok. All ships: hold your fire and any action until I give the order. We are going to try hailing them first. See if they will respond to our ship, since they have met us before. 

"Uhura, try hailing the large ship first. If it does not respond, try hailing them all until someone answers. And keep the fleet on open line as well." Uhura wordlessly jumps into her task, and Kirk turns back to the monitor with baited breath.

For many long moments, there is no answer. Kirk has to remind himself to breathe occasionally as he keeps waiting, and waiting, and hoping. For what, he has no idea. And then finally something clicks together on the monitor.

A golden being- literally covered and designed in all golden hues- appears over the monitor. His skin radiated a warm glow, giving him a godly appearance that betrayed his demonic eyes. His hair cascaded over his shoulders and seemed unkempt. Everything about him warned Kirk of his instability. Kirk hated that the monitor was positioned so high because it gave the being even more of a looming presence. His eyes light up when they fall upon Jim, and it sends lightning straight down his spine. He instantly knew this being was dangerous.

"Captain Kirk," he says, his tone portraying glee. Kirk has to shrug off his shivers at that time. "At last we meet."

"You are one of the Solarans I keep hearing about. The rulers of your galaxy. May I know your name?" he dives right into it, abandoning the plan of flowery diplomacy. He knew already that would not work on this being.

"It is not necessary. I am impressed with your knowledge of us, Captain. A hundred years of history finally seems to be catching up with you. But, having one of my slave girls on your ship seems to have helped with that a lot, I suppose." Everything about that sentence was a blow to Kirk's gut, and he had to clench his teeth to keep his mouth shut. 

"Though I am not surprised to see you back here. I knew you would return," the broken deity nearly purrs. "I believe my right-hand, Captain Hassarah, has already given you a warning not to return to our galaxy. Tell me, Captain: does the Federation always make it a habit to barge in where they please, or is it just you?"

"We make it our mission to offer aid where help is needed. Where we can help; and we can help you."

"I've heard that speech once before. Would you like to know the details of what happened after they made us those same promises?"

"I am already aware of what happened in the past," Kirk clearly states. "And you are right; it was a horrendous, disgusting truth that was buried away for no one to know about. And I am truly sorry that it happened. But I am not Captain Taylor. My crew is not that same crew. We are truly only here to help, to help protect you and save your lives. Please, allow us to make up for what was wrongfully done by doing this. Let us show you we have changed." 

"You think by doing this you will earn forgiveness? That I will just lie here and take what you say as truth, and let you in to do more harm? You underestimate my intelligence and my tolerance for games, human. Does your precious Starfleet know you are here? Did they send you back to rebirth our souls? Or is this all just on your head, and your Starfleet has not changed at all? Which villain does your Starfleet play now?" 

"This is all because I cannot just ignore what I have been made aware of, and that is that your galaxy is in danger! Your galaxy is literally falling apart before your very eyes! Your planet Demarxus only has weeks left before it is destroyed and all of those lives will be lost. Your ships are not equip to handle transporting them to safety alone. I have 4 class-A starships here ready to assist! And I have brought them here against the Federations orders. 

“You are right, they want nothing more than to cover this all up, even see you destroyed to do so. But we are here. Why else would I disobey orders and go to these lengths if we did not truly just want to help?"

Behind the captain’s chair, Hassarah's eyes go wide at the human's words. He looks down at his captain in upset, hoping his captain would be feeling and wondering the same things he was. But the stone cold look on his face told him differently. 

"You undermine our power. And today, I will personally make sure that will never happen again. We will make this a spectacle that your Federation will not be able to ignore, and so they know they will be next," the deity promises, chuckling in glee at his own words. And Kirk, and all the others, in that moment knew this negotiation was over.

Hassarah begins to lean in with a frantic call to his captain, but Dius just raises his hand in gesture and the men on the bridge hop to work. The signal is sent into the bowls of the ship, where many brightly glowing weapons and eyes ready themselves for the battle they were created to win.

But back on the Enterprise, everything goes still in despair. Kirk approaches the monitor even closer, the pleading look in his blue eyes reaching out to anything left he could latch onto. "Is this revenge truly more important to you than the lives of your crew? The lives of your entire galaxy?" Kirk asks him brokenly.

The Solaran leans forward, face close enough in the monitor to truly see the bloodlust flashing in his irises. "This revenge is everything," the Solaran hisses out, and then the screen goes dark. Everything remains silent for a long moment, until Drake felt compelled to break this spell anyway he could.

"Well, so much for negotiation," Drake says with a heavy tone.

Kirk catches onto his meaning. Now they had no choice but to fall back onto their plan B. "Keep shields raised. All teams, keep on lookout," Kirk says, dread settling in his stomach and resolve rising up his spine. 

“Captain, they are charging up their weapons,” Mx. D’Pal warns from the console. 

“All teams, prepare for impact! Do not engage yet!” Kirk calls out to the intercom just as the first shots are fired at the Pelican. Kirk can hear shouting and screaming over the intercom. More shots are fired from multiple Canis ships, and the first round of fire finally hits the Enterprise, rocking it and shaking most of the bridge crew from their seats. The warning alarms automatically turn on, but the lights stay at their normal percentage.

"Captain! Their attacks are draining our shields!" Adebayo says over the com. The same goo from before was hitting the ships, slowly peeling away at their shields and leaving scattered holes in it. They had expected this, and knew there was nothing that could be done to fully defend against their weapon. But thanks the upgrades Scotty had made the ships energy was being redirected to keep shields strong on the generators and populated areas of the ships. 

"How are we holding up, Sulu?" Jim asks.

"Overall shields running low, and a few shots have hit the ship. However, their weapons are of low attack power outside of the draining components. The shields remain at full power around the generators, so our power levels are still fine," Sulu turns over his shoulder to reassure his Captain. 

"Drake? Ahmad? Adebayo? Status update," Jim orders.

"Reporting the same here, Kirk. The upgrades are keeping everything stable," Drake informs him, nearly excited.

"Systems all online, Captain Kirk. Generators running at full power," Ahmad says.

"Weapons and crew are all at the ready, Captain Kirk," Adebayo updates him.

Jim feels a bit of weight drop off his chest at this good news. "Alright. Now we need to end this before it has a chance to get out of control. All ships, send out a few warning shots of our new weapons. Nothing to bring damage or casualties, but just to show them our newest upgrades and what they attempting to mess with," Jim gives the orders to his crew and to all the other crews. His crew gets right to work setting his orders into action.

On the large warbird, the opposing crew struggles with unpleasant readouts they were seeing from the other ships. "Captain. The trans-matter seems to be having minimal effect on their energy resources," a tall creature turns from the readouts on their station to inform the Captain. 

"They must have upgraded their ships and shields from our last battle," Hassarah takes the information and guesses, watching the scene on the monitor in amazement at Dius’ side. 

"They think that will stop us from getting to them?" the Solaran chuckles darkly. "Tell the infantry team to prepare themselves. It is time." 

Back on the Enterprise, Scotty gives Kirk the green light that the weapon was charged and Uhura shares that the fleet was at the ready. Kirk clutches tightly to his chair.  
"Fire on my command--" 

"Captain Kirk!" Ahmad yells out over the com. "My scanners are receiving visual! I am having the feed patched over to you now." Kirk is out of his seat in a second. Spock pulls up the feed at his station and Kirk runs over and leans over Spock's chair to look at it as it comes in.

The visual shows a close-up feed of the Solaran's ship. A large hatch had opened up in one of its many sides, and many of the Canis beings lined up, dressed in heavy artillery and unfamiliar and odd looking space gear. The weapons on the ship charged, and in an unbelievable and profound move, the beings jumped into the line of fire from the canons. Kirk’s stomach dropped in concern at the sight until he remembers that it was just a molasses they were shooting across space.

"The goo... They are using the weapon to teleport themselves across space. The goo is attaching them to our ship!" Adebayo reports and Kirk watches the same thing happen to his Enterprise.

"Captain! Security on decks D and H report an invasion. The goo is phasing the Canis Avengers through the hulls of the ship to get inside!" Uhura shouts, unable to contain the alarm in her voice. Kirk is sprinting over to his chair, slamming down on the rest of his chair to activate the red alert and intercom. 

"Red alert! Hostiles on ship. Engage lockdown protocols. Do not confront hostiles directly. Protect yourselves and your crewmates. 

“And those of you who are here unwelcomed...," Kirk addresses the invaders, the tone in his voice and look in his eye lethal in itself. "Prepare yourselves for the war you asked for. But it will not end the way you hope for."


	22. With My Dying Breath...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUN!!!!!!! We got invaders on the ship and no one is safe! I have this totally painted out in my head like a classic horror movie scene, where it's all quiet and dramatic and everyone is being hunted down in the darkness. So I wanted to take a look into some of the areas of the ship just besides the bridge and see how they will make it through this. Like... the Medbay...
> 
> Rating: M  
> Warnings: torture, death, blood tw, medbay tw

The only sound that could be heard through the entire ship was the noise of the red-alert. The halls had become lifeless and dark, and were painted with an eerie red glow from the emergency lights flaring. No one even dared to breathe, in fear of being hunted and slaughtered by the roaming Canis Avengers. Those who had no weapons at the ready found places to hide- to lock themselves away in some of the open closets or to hide with someone with a weapon for protection. The rooms that had already been locked down by the emergency systems- such as the private quarters and offices- left all of those secure in it as sitting ducks: hidden away, but no way to escape either.

Much to Leonard's displeasure- even in a situation like this- it was Starfleet's policy to keep a phaser in each of the departments for emergency situations. Right now, he had it clenched tightly in his fist, trying to multitask with standing guard and attempting to keep his nursing staff and the patients trapped in his Medbay calm. He had them all locked into one of the patient rooms- Leonard's back pressed against the door as he peeked out the window at his side to watch the Medbay doors for activity. They had been in lockdown now for a good couple of hours- Leonard had lost track of exact time honestly- and there had been no signs of activity yet: from friend or foe. And that fact unsettled him more than reassured him.

"This is maddening. We're supposed to just be sitting here like ducks? What if it's a massacre out there? What if the crew is in trouble? We need to get out of here, somehow, and find out what is going on!" one of the security ensigns says in frustration, getting up from the floor and walking towards the door. Leonard steps in his way, meeting him chest to chest.

"Listen kid, now is not the time for heroics. Now is the time to remain calm and think practically," Leonard lectures him, trying to reach him through the crazed look in his bright eyes. "We are locked in this room by the ship's computers, and only the captain's authorization can override that. So, we need to focus on keeping those of us in this room safe until this is all over. We will get out of here soon, because Jim will get us out of here," Leonard tells the kid surely, his eyes betraying no lack of confidence in their captain. The kid seems to release his steam under this intense gaze and goes back to sit with the rest of the group, sitting at the very front to be at-the-ready in case of emergency. 

It remains perfectly silent like this for a few moments until Christine speaks up. "Leonard... do you think it is safe to head back out to the bay, for a second? Lieutenant Ma'lala needs her next round of antiviral hypos," Christine grabs Leonard's attention, sitting on the bed and arms wrapped around the shaking Lieutenant. That sets off Leonard's alarm. Leonard heads over to the biobed and checks the lieutenant’s vitals, then looks back towards the Medbay nervously. 

"I have the phaser, let me get it. What dosage is she currently on?" he starts and Christine cuts in immediately.

"It's just grabbing a hypo, Leonard. I'll be out and back in no time. You need to stay here and protect everyone, and you need to be safe to go to work once this is all over; that's more important," Christine tells him, and by her tone he knew it was an order. A rational one, he had to begrudgingly admit.

"Well what if I go in and get the hypo?" the young security guard from before offers as he approaches the bed.

"Only the medical staff have access to the case. Not that we don't trust 'ya kid, but even if we give you the code you don't know which hypo it is," Leonard informs him, a bit dejectedly. It would just be a waste of time that way. He honestly didn't feel right or comfortable sending anyone out there, but especially not Christine. He looks over to her, and she showed much less fear in her eyes as she looks back at him.

"Ok. But be quick. I will stand by the door and watch," he says to her. He walks with Christine over to the door, motioning for her to wait behind him as he glances out into the Medbay. Once he is satisfied with the silence, he motions a go-ahead Christine. 

Christine quickly makes her way to the hypo cabinet, keeping her eyes on the sealed automatic doors the entire way across the Medbay. She keys in her code to the drawer that contained the hypo she was needing, fingers just slightly shaking as she hurriedly pushes the buttons- speaking volumes for a nurse of her caliber. Once the drawer opens with a hiss, she immediately reaches and grabs the hypos she is needing, and her nurse instincts kick in to grab a few extra and some other emergency hypos and sedatives while she has the chance. The first sense of relief washes through her as she cradles the hypos at her chest.

A loud whirring sound- similar to that of a work saw slicing through wood- rips everyone out of their zone. Christine snaps her head to look behind her as a red laser works at melting a circular opening in the steel doors.

"Christine, run!" Leonard yells out to her, reaching out his hand. Her feet immediately kick into gear, holding tightly to the hypos in her arms as she races straight back into the room with the others. Once she is safely inside, Leonard slams the door shut and locks it- with him on the opposite side of it. He turns his back against the door- yelling over the upset voices on the other side to keep quiet- and aims the phaser out towards the doors, just as the opening melts away from the rest of the door and collapses to the ground with a deafening metallic thud. 

A menacing, tall totem-looking strides into the room- his rust colored, multi sectioned body making him appear to barely fit through the doorway- and two of the feral looking creature-like pounce in behind him with excited grins. The two gremlin creatures spot Leonard immediately, twin grins growing wider and giving hearty laughs as they take in the attempt of the shaking, stupidly brave man to hold up the pistol to the intruders. The leader does not even look over at the doctor, just glares at him from the corner of his eye. 

"Are you the doctor?" the pole asks him, his tone low and thick. Leonard has to swallow his nerves before he can reply.

"I am. Doctor Leonard Horatio McCoy," he states his name for the (terrorist). Basic psychology 101. Without another word, the creature extends one of his long arms with a pistol in hand, and shoots Leonard in his leg. Leonard goes down with a loud yelp of pain, falling down to the ground but clutching tightly to the phaser in his hand. Both of the goblin creatures run over to Leonard at their leaders command, one of them kicking at him and stepping hard on his hand until it lets go of the phaser. One of the gremlins picks up the phaser before they both pick up a struggling and resistant Leonard by his arms, and presses the acquired phaser hard against his temple. That causes him to stop, thinking of the crew barely hidden just a few feet away and praying Christine can keep them calm and out of harms way.

The totem-being approaches and towers over Leonard, leering down it's nostrils to the human below him. "Where is the rest of your team?" he asks with a growl.

Leonard angrily glares up at him. "...Not here," Leonard gasps out. The rust being says nothing and quickly nods to one of the goblins, and they whack Leonard across the back of the head with the pistol. His ears ring and his vision blurs, and when he regains his senses he feels the blood matting the hair on the back of his head and trickling down his neck. He needed to think, think quickly of a way to call for help, but the light that blinded him and blanked out his mind was preventing him from any coherent thoughts. 

_The light..._ He remembers the bond, and what Spock mentioned before about communicating over it. He had no idea how it worked, or how to undo the block in his mind, but he tried to reach out to that light he knew was still in the back of his mind and scream his panic to the space as loudly as he could.

His focus is ripped from him when the gremlins jerk his head up to look up at their leader and hold him in place at the jaw. The rust alien leans in closer to be at eye level with the doctor, still leaning over him.

"Your medical team," he repeats angrily. "We want them. And we know they are in here. Tell us where they are hidden and we shall spare your life," he says and they both know it is a lie the moment it leaves his mouth. They were out for blood, and hunting down all the medical officers was a smart move to cripple the crew and cripple morale. Leonard gave them credit for that, but he would die before he gave them anything else.

"You'll never get me to tell you. Try it," Leonard challenges the creature with a lethal glare. The totem creature seems slightly thrown by this challenge, but he recovers quickly and slowly stands back upright.

"Pity. So be it." He nods again to his gremlins, and they drop Leonard to the floor. Leonard tries to scramble away until the two climb on top of him and hold him down. They take their time torturing and experimenting with him- kicking and punching and pulling and clawing at everything they could get their hands on, out of curiosity for the human body and for their own entertainment. Leonard keeps his eyes trained on the totem creature as he struggles against his captors, hoping and praying that the totem pole does not go near the room and that Christine could keep them all safe. He had no where he could run and hide, without risking exposing or leaving the rest of his team vulnerable, so he knows he has to just try to not anger them to just kill him now. Survive so he could fight and protect them, and keep screaming into the bond for help. Leonard catches on early that his struggling and fighting against them only enticed them to handle him rougher, so he relinquishes just lies back to try to absorb it as best as he could.

From his spot on the floor Leonard follows the rust being with his eyes and sees him walking around the medbay, checking different doors and rooms. Leonard’s throat was blocked by shock of the rest of his body, but his mind continued to scream as loudly as he could towards the bond. It was his only hope. Get help, save them, hear me. They were almost out of time. His heart pounded in fear as he watches the totem pole stalk around the Medway, eagerly searching for his prey. Leonard wanted to scream and curse at him at the top of his lungs. How dare he, how dare he, _how dare he..._  
A rage equal to his own meets him in his mind, flashing red and burning and shattering, when Leonard hears shots ring out in the room. The bodies that were on top of him join him on the floor, flesh on their torsos seared from the phaser fire that hit them. Before Leonard can look up and see what is going on, more shots ring out from both sides of the room. He registers the sound of something clattering against the floor and a body falling to the ground, taking his mind a second to realize it was from behind him. His eyes drift up towards the entrance, and the sight sends his heart down into his stomach.

Snoon’s face is twisted in a conflicted look- equal parts fearful and enraged- as she holds a phaser out in her shivering hand. Her wide eyes are focused onto Leonard, waiting for any cue from him that he was alright. 

He struggles to push himself up from the floor in a sitting position on his good leg, Snoon staying back out of fear of acting on what she wanted to do. But when he looks back up at her, his hazel eyes telling her it was all alright, the spell and doubts and worries are instantly broken.

Snoon runs across the room to him, just barely able to reach him before they collapse onto each other on the floor. Leonard has his arms wrapped tightly around Snoon's shoulders as he presses her in as closely as he physically can, her arms wrapped tightly against his back as she breathes in his scent to ground her.

_He's alive... thank God..._

He can hear her thoughts as clearly as his own again, feeling and gladly taking in the comforting waves she was sending him. Slowly the pain of his leg trickles out from his body and is replaced by warmth. He recognizes the sensation instantly, instinctively.

"Are you blocking my pain?" he asks in amazement, trying to look down at his leg. The wound was still there, blood trickling out at a steady pace. Snoon fights against him as he moves.

"Yes Leonard, but keep still. I am able to block the pain signals to your mind but we still need to stop the bleeding and your internal injuries," she informs him. She takes the sleeve of her robe between her canine teeth and tugs at it until the fabric shreds apart from the sleeve in a long strip. She places the strip directly over the wound, turning to her other sleeve to gather more cloth to cover his wound. 

He watches her in silence as she does so- partially in amazement and because he knows he could not stop her. He notices the shaking of her fingers and hands as she works, but does not comment on it directly. His eyes float to the discarded phaser at her side, the gauge on the side of it showing it was set to 'stun'. After all these beings had done to her, after all she had been through because of them, compared to how much rage he felt towards them just in a few minutes of being tortured by them… he was surprised and impressed that she had not set the phaser to 'kill'.

"Why did you come down here yourself?" he has to ask her. How afraid she must had been to have to face her tormentors again all alone?

Her blue eyes look up to him, but show no signs of fear. Just strength. "Because I heard your distress over the bond." It was such a simple explanation to her, like it was not even something to give a second thought to. Leonard was floored by her sincerity. He just pulled her back in close against his chest, holding onto her as tight as he could until they both could stop shaking enough to get off the floor and hide with the others.


	23. Don't Tell Me What You're Thinking, I Don't Want to Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HEY! WHO'S UP FOR A WEEK OF NEW HORIZONS RELEASES?!
> 
> I am doing a week-long Valentine's Day celebration release on tumblr for this series, so I will also be simultaneously uploading the chapters onto here! It goes from today (2/8) all the way to the 14th, with this last chapter of this series being uploaded on that day. So this is a romance celebration for Leonard and Snoon and also a mourning period for me for the completion of my first ever series! So, please come join in these festivities and shower me and this series with praise to keep my dying heart beating. *sobs*
> 
> In this chapter, the Bridge crew split up to battle against the invading Canis Avengers and to get the ship's systems back online, and we get a focus on Jim, Sulu and Scotty as they come up with a plan. (I'm saying A plan, not a GOOD plan. You'll see). Enjoy!
> 
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: mentions of violence, mentions of PTSD, blood

The Bridge was one of the first places that the Canis Avengers stormed. After they made it into the ship, the Enterprise crew was able to track them via cameras and infrared scans of the halls as the invaders split up into groups. Most came up to the Bridge, some others down to Engineering, and a few smaller groups to other departments scattered across the ship.

When the Bridge crew realized what was coming their way, they prepared themselves. Kirk did not even have to issue an order to lock the doors or attempt to hide- the bridge crew refused anyhow. They were ending this, now.

It did not take long for the Avengers to make it up to the Bridge. The bridge turbolift was the only one that stayed online during a red alert. With phasers set to 'stun', the Bridge crew were easily able to take down all the invaders quickly and with no major injury. Luck was on their side; since the Avengers had to split themselves up into much smaller groups to fit into the turbolift which gave the Bridge crew a bit of leeway to fight them. But from the few number of invaders lying unconscious on their floor, they knew this was not all of them, and that there were plenty more on the ship. 

Jim knew staying put in such a tight space would make them sitting ducks, and he needed to get the rest of his ship secured. But even if they took down all the invaders on his ship, that would not stop this battle completely. The only way to truly end this would be to get to the source, which he was unsure of how to do at the moment. But first, he needed to get his ship secure and back online.

So he proposes for everyone to spilt up and head to different areas of the ship to check on the systems and their crew. He also orders the ones with combat training to help clear the decks and guard the generators. "Keep your coms on you. Make sure to signal before speaking, in case someone is in a dangerous zone, alright?" Jim tells everyone as they gather around him.

He takes one last look at the faces of his crew. "Be safe out there guys. Look after each other until we can get this figured out."

As everyone else goes to move away and towards the turbolift, Spock steps in front of Jim, meeting his eyes with a disapproving look. "Captain, I do not agree with your plan for you and I to split up. If we stick together to fend off the Canis Avengers, I estimate a higher success rate of 34.--"

"It's alright, Spock," Jim cuts him off to reassure him. "I got Sulu with me; we're going to go see if we can find Scotty and check the generators. You and Uhura need to go down to electrical and get the com lines back up so we can reach the other ships. And you need to find Snoon and check on her," he says knowingly more than as an order. 

When Spock wordlessly stays put but fidgets in place, Jim puts a hand on Spock's shoulder, and shares with him another one of their wordless looks. Spock just holds his gaze for a moment, absorbing it, before he nods. "Be careful, Jim," he says before he finally turns to walk away with Uhura. 

Jim watches the both of them get into the lift, and Sulu comes up to wait for direction at his side. "So how much of a chance do you really think we got to make it down to Engineering?" Sulu asks. Jim turns to clap him on the shoulder and give him a reassuring smile.

"I'd give us a solid 34 percent," Jim smirks before walking towards the lift. "You ready?" 

"Without weapons? Then that number significantly drops I would say," Sulu comments as he joins his Captain in the lift.

"Armories are shut down from the red alert, and too risky to try to break one open. No need to give the Avengers more ammunition. Plus, we already gave all the phasers on the bridge to the groups that went ahead of us. But, I know a secret place where some phasers are securely stashed that we can reach."

"Where?" Sulu asks, and Kirk calls for the lift to take them down. Jim does not answer him, just leads him down to the officer’s quarters.

The lift opens on a dark and desolate hallway, otherwise intimidating except for this case. It was a relief to see it clear- of Avengers or trapped crewmembers. Kirk and Sulu both keep their wits about them as they make their way, Sulu following behind Jim and keeping his eye on the turbolift and doors for signs of activity. He just kept moving at his Captain’s pace since he had no idea where they were going. But it did not take them long, they soon stopped in front of Jim’s quarters.

Jim wrangles the keypad off its hinges, revealing the wires and circuits beneath. 

"Back to your old hacking ways, Captain?" Sulu chuckles as he keeps watch of the hall. 

"I can do this since it is my own room," Jim says in mock-defense. He hits the wires just right and the doors fly open with a jolt. Jim walks in and turns to the left, sliding open his closet door. Sulu walks in but stays by the doorway, to keep his eye on the hall. He watches as Jim crouches down to the foot of his closet, rummaging through a couple boxes until he pulls out an old-fashioned leather case. He blows away the speckles of dust on top of the case and places it gently into his lap. He twists at the numerical lock until the proper numbers line up, and he pops the case open. 

Inside the case was a worn-looking phaser. It seemed as if it had gathered much use, and much dust on top of it for lack of use. Jim takes it out and switches it on and plays around with the different setting and modes, testing it. Sulu eyes it and his Captain apprehensively.

"How did you get a phaser in your room?" Sulu asks curiously. He knew it was heavily against Starfleet policy to keep weapons in quarters and public spaces. 

Jim speaks openly. "I held onto this weapon after the mission with Khan, after my death. I wasn't able to sleep, and when I did sleep I would have nightmares and terrors. I was on edge all the time, and having the weapon around... helped me to feel safer. More in control. The ship's counselor approved for me to keep it in my quarters since I wasn't suicidal and didn't become homicidal from Khan's blood. Mainly kept it under my pillow for a long time. Once I started handling the PTSD better, I put it away and forgot all about it."

Sulu didn't comment on what his captain said, just nods his head in understanding. But he does notice that there is only one phaser. He comes up with an idea.

"Can you help me break into my room?" Sulu asks suddenly. "I have fencing equipment in there that I can use to fight with. I keep a sabre made of Janus steel mounted up on my wall. Strong stuff," he gushes. Jim just looks up at him and smirks.

"And how did you manage to get that in your room?"

"Ran them past Starfleet as artifacts," Sulu says with a shrug. Jim stands and pulls a holster out of his closet, securing it around his hips but not putting the phaser into it.

“Then keep me covered while I break into your room,” Jim says, holding the phaser out to Sulu. He takes it in the affirmative, checking the hallways behind him and signaling the ‘go-ahead’ to Kirk when he sees it’s clear. Kirk takes lead down the hall, just having to head a couple doors down to make it to Sulu’s room. All of the Bridge crew had their quarters around the same hallway. Jim breaks open the keypad to his quarters and it only takes him a moment before the door gives way to him, also flying open with ease. Sulu whistles in amazement and secret worry at the sight, taking one last check at the end of the hall before the both walk into the room. 

Sulu then passes the phaser to Jim, giving him watch over the hall as he grabs his weapon. In his living room, placed above his couch against the wall, the sabre was crossed with an onyx scabbard on a plaque. They both were pristinely polished and shone under the lights, giving off a regal air. Sulu takes them both down with care, handling them delicately more out of adoration than caution. He attaches the scabbard to his hip, giving the sabre a few practice flicks and thrusts before holding the sabre up in a salute and holding it at rest at his side. He gives Jim a wide smile.

“Now we’re ready,” he says confidently. 

“Alright then, we are going to head down to Engineering. Check on the generators and see if we can find Mr. Scott. Once we get the ship back online then we need to come up with a plan to end all this.” 

“I thought the plan was to use offensive means if negotiations fell through?”

“We accounted for energy if they used the goo on us again, but did not foresee them invading the ship and the damage that would cause. Once systems are back online, I assume we will only have enough energy left to maintain our shields and systems at full capacity. It would be too much of a risk to shift the energy to weapons and leave our ships vulnerable like that. So, we need to come up with a new plan all together,” Jim explains as they make their way back to the turbolift. They both climb inside, deep in thought.

“That pretty much leaves us trapped on this ship. Do we escape and regroup?”

“No, I think we have poked the bear on this. If we leave now they will follow, hunting us down and then moving on to attack other Federation worlds and ships, like the Solaran said,” Jim counters. Running would be the cowardly and risky thing to do. They had to stay and find a way to end it here.

“Then what else can we do?” Sulu asks, coming up short and frustrated. 

“One thing at a time, Sulu: we clear our ship and get our systems back online. We also still need to get in touch with the other ships. We have options.” Jim and Sulu spend the rest of the turbolift ride down trying to calm their nerves, and focus on the task at hand: preparing for whatever would be waiting for them in Engineering.

The lift opens and Jim and Sulu both raise their weapons. The first look of the engineering floor was clear, and Jim and Sulu march out to check their surroundings. At the sound of the turbolift and their movement, a Kebb’dian shuffles out from around a tube, growling and raising his weapon. Jim catches him first and shoots him down, passing over the body on the floor to check the corner for more of his kind. He knew they would come, hearing the commotion. 

From the left side two more of the gremlin creatures crawl out from the dark, and Sulu catches them before they have time to reach Kirk from behind. He charges them with his sabre, disarming the first one with a slice to the hand and then kicking him to the ground, and then thrusting the blade into the chest of the second one. Sulu pulls out the blade and quickly continues on around the corner to check for more invaders, meeting up with Jim.

They step together to continue checking the deck, slowly becoming relieved as they make it towards the lower decks of Engineering where the offices were located. Sulu lowers his weapons and peers through some of the windows of the offices, checking for any signs of Enterprise crewmembers.

From behind him and to the left, Jim hears a light rustling noise. He swiftly turns and raises his phaser, pinpointing the noise from a corner control room. The noise becomes louder and adds the sounds of movement and muttering, sending Jim’s heart into a racing panic. He signals for Sulu to join him as he slowly approaches the room, seeing the door was open on the left side. They both approach the room, Jim waiting for the shuffling to resume to use the element of surprise as an advantage.

Jim quickly rounds the corner, pointing his phaser right at the source of the shuffling sounds.

"Captain!" Scotty yells out in panic, throwing his arms up. Kirk instantly drops his arm and lets go of his held breath.

"Scotty! Thank God you are alright!" Jim says, pulling the chief to him for a big hug once he walks out of the office. Scotty returns the hug, feeling as similarly relieved to see his Captain and to not have been shot by him. Scotty then turns to the swordsman and firmly clasps him on both arms. 

"Jim, Hikaru, I am glad I found 'ye!"

"How is everyone down here?" Jim asks first thing.

"E'eryone is fine. A team came down 'ere first thing to help clear the area of t'ose nasty Aveng'rs. E'eryone is safely in hidin' now," Scotty explains. “Those last batch you just took out are the last batch we ‘ave seen in a while.” Jim relaxes a bit at that.

"But I knew ‘ye would make your way down ‘here eventually and so I waited for ‘ye. I have someth'n important here for 'ye. One 'o my officers in the engine room was able'ta wrangle off one of the suits off t'ose Canis Aveng'rs, and I was just examinin’ it," Scotty holds the gear out in his hand for the two men to look at. Upon closer inspection it was a relatively thin material, the neoprene feel resembling an Earth wetsuit. All throughout the body and limbs of the suit, trails of small devices with flashing lights are woven into the material. It gave it a truly high-tech appearance, and most likely were the devices that allowed the suit to teleport whoever was wearing it.

"So... we just have a naked Canis Avenger wandering around our ship?" Sulu dares to ask.

"No! Of course not! We stunn’d him, _then_ stripped him," Scotty proudly clarifies. "We threw a bunch of ‘em into a broom closet and locked’it. They’ll be out for a while yet, and we ‘ave two ensigns from security guardin’ the door for when they wake up again."

"Good man Scotty. What can you tell me about this suit?" Kirk redirects the conversation.

"There seems to be some sort’a special instrumentation programmed into this suit that acts with their goo that can teleport ‘em through objects. Think of this like two magnets- disrupting and creating its own magnetic field to push and pull on matter between the two poles. Since the goo ‘as the power to absorb energy, I believe it is magnetized to pull apart the physical state of something to it’s basic energy state, and then is able’ta transport that energy across space. Then the receiving goo absorbs the received energy and then reassembles it into it’s physical state. Something similar to how their weapon teleported us back in space. It’s similar, but a next step up from how our transporters work.”

"If they have this kind of technology, then why haven't they been able to come up with something to save their planets? To teleport themselves to another zone?" Sulu asks in puzzlement and disbelief.

"Because it seems like only the Canis Avengers have this advanced technology. And they are being led by a crazed leader who is only interested in revenge. It's more important to him to get revenge and see the Federation go down than to accept aid from us, even if it means death as the only alternative." Kirk saw it all in that Solaran's eyes- nothing was as important to him as destroying the Federation.   
He would rather die, and take his entire galaxy with him, than to ever accept their help.

"Even though that is not logically possible... But he can't see that, can he?" Sulu guesses.

"No. He's blinded and crazed mad by rage. There's nothin' left in there," Scotty comments bitterly.

"You either let it eat you alive or learn to leave it behind." Kirk says. He looks at his two men. "Scotty, I'm going to need your genius on a mission. I need you to help me use this suit to get over to that ship with the Solaran on it. All of our resources need to stay on defense right now. Once we get them back online we will not have enough energy on our ships to maintain both shields and weapons. And I need to see if I can try to pacify his rage, or end this with him," Jim tells them the plan as it comes into his mind.

"Now _you’re_ talking mad, Captain!" Scotty shouts in aghast. Sulu says nothing but shares the same incredulous look Scotty was giving Jim.

"Are you saying you can't do it, Mr. Scott?" Kirk says with pointed teasing. Sulu watches the Scottsman squirm as he attempts to not fall for the bait. He falls apart after just a few seconds.

"...Of course I can Cap'n, but that is not the point!" he shouts in a fluster. "Sending you over to that ship alone would be a suicide mission! If Mr. Spock were here, I'm sure he would say something like, _'This is a highly illogical and I will fire Mr. Scott for helping you to do such a reckless thing, Captain'_ , and also quote a bunch of regulations at 'ye to convince 'ya what an arse you are bein'." Jim and Sulu both raise their brows at the Spock impersonation, Sulu trying to hold back obvious laughter. 

"You know we can’t just kill them without trying everything we can first. We’re explorers and negotiators first. That’s the real way of Starfleet. And Mr. Scott, who said I would be going alone?" Jim says slyly. The other two men look at him in confusion, praying in the back of their minds he did not mean either one of them.  
Perfectly timed, the normal lights and systems come back online, and the comm in his pocket springs to life and signals for attention. "Go for Kirk," Jim brings out his comm and responds.

"Jim! It's Francis," Drake says over the line.

"Francis! Thank God you are alright. Is everything ok on your ship?”

“We are handling our own over here. Luckily I have the best crew of bad-asses this galaxy could ask for,” he says with a surprising laugh. He then goes serious. “I’ve had minimal damage and loss over here, and it appears we are pretty much back in control of the ship. What’s happening over on the Enterprise?”

“About the same- my crew is clearing the decks and guarding the generators. We just got our main systems back online. That will help make the task even easier,” he says, turning over his shoulder and seeing Sulu and Scotty both checking in with various crew members on their communicators and the console. He felt relief and pride over having such an adept crew. “Have you gotten in touch with the other Captains?” he asks. 

"I have Ahmad on the other line. She and Adebayo are fine. Ahmad has the most equip ship out of all of us so they were able to take down the Avengers in no time. But, I worry about what she said before about that Solaran ship having over 3000 lifeforms on it. That means a second wave could be coming anytime soon. What do we do now? Execute the offensive plan?”

"Actually Drake, how would you and the others feel about going on a little trip?" Kirk asks, and he has to ignore the way Scotty slaps a hand to his head in grimace.


	24. What do You Have Against Green?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DAY TWO!! Now we get to take a look on how Spock and Uhura are handling the lockdown and their attempts to get the communications systems back online. We also get to look again into Christine, Snoon and Leonard while they are hiding in MedBay.
> 
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: depictions of violence, blood tw, medical tw

The ship had already been in lockdown for nearly an hour by the time Nyota and Spock made it to the bottom of the ship. The Canis Avengers had even made their way all the way down to the basement of the ship, where the control room was. Spock and Uhura both had to fight against a few pairs of invaders on their way to the control room, watching each other's backs and helping to get the crew trapped on that deck to a safe spot. Spock was able to take out the guards stationed at the door to the control room with a nerve pinch, ensuring they would be knocked out long enough for Nyota to bring the communication systems back online.

She threw herself into the job as Spock stood guard. Spock perched at the doorway, kneeling down on the ground with his phaser pointed outside the doorway towards the end of the hall, ready to shoot down any Avenger at first sight. Nyota was half-buried under a mountain of metal and wires, digging her way through it to repair the parts of the switchboard and ship's communication system. Her muscles started to ache and tremble after long moments with no reprieve went by, but she kept her focus on the task before her; keeping a steady hand as she used the circuit probe to bring life back to the fried circuit.

"Status update, Lieutenant?" Spock asks over his shoulder as he keeps his eyes and ears trained outside the doorway.

She focuses on the device in her hand as she updates him on her progress. "I am connecting the bypass circuit now. That should take... about another half-hour, and then the system will be back online," she informs him, even her own tone sounding disheartened as she says it aloud. Spock checks the halls one last time before making his way over to the console Nyota was in, crouching down beside her to take a look over her work.

"Anything I may assist with?" he offers.

"No, Spock. It's all just a matter of time for this to connect now," she says.

"Speed is essential, Lieutenant," he pushes.

Nyota stops her work before she accidentally breaks something, and takes a deep breath. "Spock, I haven't done anything like this is years. If it isn't done just right, I could blow the entire communications system. It is very delicate work."

"I can think of no one better to handle the job, Nyota. Please... proceed," he says, backing away from the console to resume his position at the door. With a long look over her shoulder and small smile, she returns her focus to the small wires below her hand. 

The conversation and checking-in ends there, the rest of the time passing in a focused silence. Eventually Nyota is able to crawl out from under the console and close it up.

"Alright, Spock, that is it," Nyota informs him, joining up with him at the door.

"The communications system is back online?"

"The system just needs to reboot itself; it will take no more than 10 minutes. But I have done all I can do," Nyota informs him.

"Very good work, Lieutenant. Then, we shall make our way down to the Anthropology labs."

"Spock, I thought we should head down to MedBay," Nyota offers instead. Spock stops in his train of thought.

"Why?"

"Because Medbay is where Leonard is sure to be, and in a time like this don't you think Snoon would want to be with him?" 

Spock just stares down at Nyota, brows tightly knitted in a perplexed expression. "You believe Snoon would seek out the doctor?" 

Nyota pats Spock on the arm sympathetically. "Oh Spock, now is not a time for a lesson in romance. Or jealousy over your friend. Just follow me," Nyota says, leading the way down the hall towards the ladder. 

It was a long climb up the ladder to reach the deck for Medbay, but luckily both Nyota and Spock had plenty of adrenaline running through their bodies to make the work go by much easier and quicker. Spock appears first, checking the halls before he helps pull out Nyota. The rush down the hallway, heading straight towards the MedBay, and hearts collectively sinking when they see the hole carved into the MedBay doors. Spock raises his phaser and slowly makes his way towards the door, Nyota following closely behind with phaser in her hand.

The Medbay was desolate, and smelled strongly of burnt flesh and sulfur from phaser fire. Spock scans the room with his phaser and motions for Nyota to stay by the door the second he notices the bodies lying on the ground. He checks corners and open doorways, making sure every last accessible inch of the Medbay was clear before he makes his way over to the rust-colored body on the floor. He reaches and touches it’s psi points, closing his eyes to focus and search through the stimuli he receives from the telepathic connection.

"This man and his grunts tortured the Doctor. Snoon was also here, but the images of what transpired are unclear," he summarizes the images he had seen from the being’s memories to Nyota.

"Then where could they have gone? If Leonard is injured then they have to be close by," Nyota wonders aloud. Spock stands and checks the other bodies for weapons and clues. 

"It is unclear, but I believe it would be best if we leave, as to not draw attention here. We will continue to search the ship for them," Spock decides. There were no obvious signs of Leonard and Snoon here. And staying here too much longer would be a liability to anyone hiding in this area and draw attention from the Canis Avengers to it. 

"Spock! Nyota!" A voice hisses just quietly enough for Spock's ears to nearly miss. He turns towards the source of the noise, seeing Christine standing in a cracked doorway with a phaser in her hand. She waves them over once they all see each other. Nyota runs to her and Spock follows behind Nyota.

Nyota waits until Christine has the door shut and locked behind them that she pulls Christine in close in a tight hug. "Christine," she nearly sobs. "Thank heavens you are ok!" While Uhura and Chapel console each other, Spock’s eyes scan the room over for a familiar face in the crowd. He quickly finds Snoon, sitting on the floor with the Doctor's head resting in her lap. Leonard looked pale and on the verge of passing out, and Snoon appeared distracted, not even looking up once Spock enters the room. He comes and crouches at her side, and then she finally looks up at him. They both share a look, one that communicates relief to see each other alive and safe.

"Snoon. I am relieved to find you unharmed," he says to her. She looks as if she was going to respond in kind, but Leonard's rattled coughing distracts the pair of Vulcans.

"And you didn't even have to say it in Vulcan this time," McCoy comments deliriously. Snoon quirks her brow at his quip.

"I would ask how you are Doctor McCoy, but if your mind is still able to produce smart remarks, I believe you will live," Spock comments back, letting go of his ridged posture just the tiniest bit in relief.

"Is that your medical opinion, Mr. Spock?" McCoy asks with a worn smirk. He coughs again, his body straining to maintain the basic functioning and healing it was trying to do simultaneously.

Christine and Nyota walk over to join the group. "Leonard," Christine interjects. "We need to run another round of the regenerator on your leg so we can fully stop the bleeding from your wound. Are you ready?" Christine asks him, sympathy heavy in her blue eyes.

He chokes again before he can clear his throat enough to answer. "Yeah, Yeah, I understand. Let's get this over with," he says, trying miserably on his own to come to a sitting position. Snoon wraps her arms around his torso, helping to guide him up and to sit back against her chest as support.

Christine moves away to the counters in the corner of the room to fiddle with the regenerator. It was on a charger, drained from its last use just a couple hours ago. Spock and Uhura follow behind her to hopefully catch up on the details of the situation. Christine speaks grimly as she puts the device together.

"This is going to be painful, the regenerator is never pleasant. The wound from the phaser blast in his leg was deep, so it is going to need multiple rounds of the regenerator to close it up completely. And he's refusing the pain killers I grabbed before the attack in case someone else needs them. Luckily Snoon has been helping to ease the pain for him telepathically, but even she is becoming worn out." 

All of them turn over their shoulders to look at the pair; Snoon’s eyes locked on her bondmate and wiping his damp hair away from his forehead. He says something unintelligible to her but it makes her raise a brow at him in amusement. 

"Poor Leonard. He has done so much today to save everyone. He's been a true hero- keeping us all safe and sacrificing himself out there to protect us. I am just glad Snoon was able to find him in time and stops those Avengers before they could kill anyone," Christine says conversationally. 

"She was the one who shot all of those Avengers in the MedBay?" Uhura asks, stunned. Spock was equally as stunned, internally. For her to go up against her captors like that- how much bravery and strength that must have taken. And all for Leonard... Maybe he did need Nyota to explain a few things that were passing over his head after all.

"Well, luckily Snoon has been good with keeping him occupied. She has been such a rock for him with all of this. They seem to be good friends," Christine says in a relief.

“Poor Leonard. I wish there was something more we could do for him,” Nyota comments sincerely. Spock comes across an old memory in his mind, a trick he learned from the doctor in the past.

"I believe a distraction would also be beneficial, to help to keep the Doctor's mind off the pain. Allow me," Spock offers. Nyota looks at him quizzically and Christine nods in understanding, glad to have any help she can get. The group heads back over to Leonard, sitting down around him as Christine starts removing the bloody bandages around his leg. The wound in his thigh was indeed deep, red and angry with irritation from the bleeding and regenerator. Everyone collectively grimaces in sympathy as they look at it.

"Alright, Leonard. Are you ready? I’ll count down before we start so you and Snoon can prepare,” she offers, raising the machine at the ready to his leg.

“Don’t tell me when, just do it and get it over with,” Leonard instructs her, turning his head to the side. Snoon keeps one arm around his torso to help him stay up and brings her other hand up to his face.

Christine exchanges a small nod with Spock. He nods back and turns his attention to Leonard, placing himself closer to Leonard’s other side.

"Tell me, Doctor McCoy... What is your favorite color?"

"What?" Leonard has just enough time to turn and ask before Christine applies the regenerator to his skin and McCoy's power of speech is lost in a fit of yelling. Spock quickly places an arm over Leonard to assist in keeping him upright as his body jerks from the overwhelming pain. It only lasts a second though before Snoon can reattach her hand to his psi points to dilute his pain.

He grunts and groans until he can regain his proper breathing, and then glares up at Spock. "It's definitely not green, I will tell you that much."


	25. All Things Must End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day three of the week of ST:NH, and, the last chapter in the story arc of the battle with the Canis Avengers. How is Kirk going to get them out of this? Will Dius come to see the light? Will this end in peace or in flames? Will they be able to save the people of Demarxus in time, or even save themselves? Hell, not even I could predict how this was going to end until I actually sat down and wrote it. And I was like, ‘damn’ with how it turned out (I don’t write this shit, it just happens magically). So give it a read and enjoy the thrilling end to the war with the Canis Galaxy!
> 
> Word count: 4634  
> Rating: M  
> Warnings: depections of violence, blood tw, major character death

The suit was a little too tight on Jim- since it was made for one of those gremlin creatures- but Scotty figures it will still do the job.

"So if my correct guess is right, which of course it is, then while the suit is active it syncs up to the goo from the Canis ships to pull apart and move the matter of whomever is wearing it, similar to our teleporters. Since those Canis guys seem to fire and attach the goo to other ships to teleport their men, we should be able to use this in the reverse as well- to where it should now bring track the goo on the other ships and bring you right over into them. Though, we are not sure where on the ship you will appear. Hopefully in similar areas if they keep all the weaponry together."

"Sounds like something out of a weird science fiction story," Sulu comments.

"But it is our only shot to work right now, so we're gonna take it," Kirk responds. "Captains Adebayo, Drake, Ahmad: how are we looking?" Kirk checks in.

Adebayo looks down at the little garment pasted over his shoulders and around his thighs. He and his wife had to tear the suit in half to even get it around on his massive body, having to wear it like a jacket and chaps over a Starfleet issue spacesuit. "I believe we are in good order, Captain Kirk," he reports.

Ahmad tries to comfortably adjust the suit around her curves as much as she could. "Yeah, as good as it can be, I guess," Ahmad grumbles.

Drake ignores the disgruntled comments of his brethren, checking out the way the suit highlighted and perfectly hugged his muscles. "I think I am keeping this suit once this is done and over with."

"Good feedback everyone. We activate the suits on my mark," he says over the com, then gesturing to Scotty and Sulu. Scotty at the control panel then opens the hatch, the vacuum of space instantly pulling Kirk out into it. The wire attached to Kirk’s suit keeps him in close to the ship, with enough control to where Kirk can maneuver himself around the ship to gain a clear view of the Solaran ship across from him. This way made it easier for him to have a perfect shot to the ship. 

"Ready..." Kirk marks over his comm, pressing against the side of the ship in a crouch-start pose. He focuses all of his attention on the ship ahead, and once his gut gives the 'ready', he gives the command. "Activate".

With a press of a switch on their suits, the suits come to life, blue light radiating through the channels all across the suit. Kirk feels a humming and low vibration across his skin, as if the energy from the suit was trying to crawl under it. His eyes, and the physical lines of reality, started to blur and meld everything together.

It was a surreal sensation. He felt taken apart, but not in a tearing or broken kind of way. Like, his body had just dissolved and whatever was underneath it was free to expand and move. He could still see the stars and space around him flying by but was not watching them with his eyes. He could also sense the energy from the stars around him, almost as if they were kindred to himself in this state. 

In a swoosh and a beam and a flash, Kirk was back in his body, placed right in the middle of desolate and dark room, filled with many archaic weapons. Large machines hummed all around him, and many platforms and walkways hung above his head that lead in many directions. He quickly picks himself up and hides himself behind one of the cylindrical machines to open his communicator.

"Locations, everyone!" Kirk states as to-the-point as possible.

"I appear to be in the ship's garage. They have many old and broken escape pods and spacecraft's here," Adebayo explains the environment.

"I believe I am in the armory; they have many outdated and seemingly-artifactual weapons around."

"I'm right above you," Drake calls over the communicator, but Kirk can hear his baritone from above him. He looks up to see Drake on a walkway right above him. Kirk flips open the homing beacon on his communicator, using the sonar to bring up locations of the Starfleet issue communicators in the vicinity. All 3 of the other communicators appear on his screen.

“Ahmad, looks like you are in the same room as Drake and I. Adebayo, you are on the same deck, just a few meters away. Look around in there and see if you can find any maps or schematics of the ship. We need something that will give us a clue to where the Solaran leader is. Same goes for you too, Ahmad and Drake.”

All of them go silent for many moments, searching the areas around them the best they could to see any intelligible blueprints or maps. Adebayo noticed a few of the gremlin and rust-colored beings in the distance, and kept himself hidden amongst the shadows so he would not be seen as he continued his search. But nothing of the sort was particularly common in the locations they were in.

“I don’t see anything like that here, Kirk,” Adebayo eventually gives up his search and says (dejectedly), keeping his tone quiet so he would not draw attention to himself.

“Same here. Or, at least anything I can decipher to be a blueprint of the ship,” Drake comments. Ahmad leaves her end of the line empty, not having any new information to share. Kirk curses to himself, then closes his eyes tightly, trying to block out everything else and escape into his brain to think. Thinking of everything they knew, what they had already been through up to this point. Something that could give them an advantage and a way to draw the Avengers to meet them on their terms.

‘Back to your old ways, huh Captain?’

The voice sparks some genius in Kirk. “Then we will just have to bring the leader to us,” he says assuredly. 

"And how are we going to do that, Kirk?" Drake asks in concern.

"I have a feeling once the leader hears we are here, he will want us to come to him," Kirk explains his train of thought. "So, we just need to make a big enough commotion for them to know we are here," he explains, the sound of his voice drawing Ahmad to him just as Drake makes it down the stairs to meet up with them.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Ahmad asks, the three of them joining together in a huddle. With no immediate answers coming to anyone’s minds Jim leads the two of them around a corner, starting to look for inspiration, when they all fall in the light of a large container of the radiant blue goo. They all stare up at it, sharing the same epiphany.

"That'll work," Drake says.  
\------------------------------------------------------------

Dius is ripped from his pleasurable fantasy of his infantry team killing and tearing apart the Federation infidels by the yelling of Hassarah from below his platform.

"Sire! The Fleet ships are coming back online!" Hassarah alerts him. Dius' eyes fly open, rage crushing the calm that just filled him seconds prior. He stands from his seat, starting to pace the floor of his platform. Hassarah below stays quiet, knowing well in moments like these it was best not to say anything.

"So, they were able to best the infantry teams. Typical; merciless, savage brutes." Those around Hassarah and at the control panels start to become riled up at their leader’s words, imagining the violent death of their comrades. "No matter. We must destroy their ships now before they have time to attack. We finish this, now," Dius turns to give the order to Hassarah. As Hassarah pauses- gathering his courage to speak up in this critical moment- the comm line on Dius' console flares to life.

"Sire! A few of the terrorists from the Federation are on the ship! Reports coming in from the dock with destroyed pods and the armory about them blowing up our container of the transmatter goo! We believe it to be that Captain Kirk leading the brigade." 

Dius' vision goes red at the news, his mind blanking out to everything else except pure rage. "How did they manage to get past our sensors?" Dius yells at anyone, everyone.

"Because they used the transmatter goo to get onto the ship, our sensors did not pick up any foreign or invading bodies," the crewman explains.

An inhuman noise escapes Dius’ chest at the news. All the crewmen jump and scramble even before their captain even speaks, the lethal glare he turns to them frightening enough. "Then why are you still talking if you know all of this? Stop them! Take them down! Bring me the Captain Kirk!" Dius yells frantically, his own vocal chords straining for the volume of his command.

 

Jim and Francis and Sakina sprint across the armory, escaping the large blast of the explosion from the transmatter tank and collateral chaos ensuing behind them.

"How did you think to bring explosives with you, Ahmad?" Jim asks through his panting as they run down across the room and around the other machines.

"My ship has the best weaponry and artillery out of all of us. I knew I had to be the one to bring the heat," she says with a proud smile. 

"I can appreciate a woman who is always prepared to cause trouble," Drake says, turning to flash Ahmad a smirk as they turn to round a corner. Ahmad just rolls her eyes at him.

The group picks up the pace once they start to hear noises and yelling. "Adebayo! How's it going?" Jim yells on his communicator.

"Well they know we are here now. I could hear that explosion from here, and anyone who was in this garage left in a hurry to go after it," Adebayo informs them, Kirk able to hear him more clearly now that he wasn’t speaking in hushed tones.

"Ok, Adebayo, get yourself out of there come meet us at the entrance of the garage to the hallway. We are just leaving the armory now, so leave your comm on and we will use the tracking on it to find you. I have a plan on how to draw them to us and get them to take us to the Solaran,” Kirk instructs him as he leads the other two out of the armory. The voices seem to be left behind as they make their way into the hall.

When Jim gets into the hallway he immediately looks around for Adebayo, seeing him a few yards away to his right. He calls for him, everyone rushing to meet up with the large Captain and Kirk rushes them all back into the garage. The platform they were on overlooked the entire garage- completely empty. Kirk starts to run down the stairs that takes them down to the base level of the garage.

“Where are we going, Captain Kirk?” Adebayo asks as they move, his baritone voice sounding even deeper with the strain of the running down the steps to follow. 

“Since they seem to have all their transmatter goo on this deck we need to find another source of it, and since you teleported to this room it has to be here somewhere. It is precious to them, so finding the last of it and threatening to blow it up can give us enough leverage so they don’t outright shoot us. Then we can ask to be taken to their leader,” Kirk says, scanning the entire floor to see if he could find anything outright that had the goo.

All of the Captains follow his cue. “Anyone tell you yet your plan sounds like something out of a cheap science fiction story? Seriously. ‘Take us to your leader’?” Drake asks, but helping with the search the nearby perimeter.

“That seems to be the consensus with all of this,” Kirk replies absently. 

The group wanders around all corners of the garage, wandering around the vehicles and pods to do a thorough search of the floor. Sakina finds another stairwell on the side of the garage and ascends it, coming across a level of storage rooms and offices on a platform that overlooked the entire garage. 

“Kirk! I found it!” Ahmad yells from behind. Jim, and everyone else, answers her call and runs towards her to take a look at the container. Once they make it up the stairs in into the room they circle around the container- a wall mounted mechanism with multiple large vials of the glowing goo. It looked like a dispensary, and the amount of goo this ship held worried and frightened Kirk. But, this would be just enough to give them the leverage they needed. 

Soon and sure enough, trampling footsteps make their way too them, a large group of nearly a dozen Kebb’dians charge into the room with the Captains, raising their weapons and voices at them in unintelligible shouting.

“Stop!” Adebayo yells over all the voices, holding his phaser up against the container. Everyone else follows his lead; Sakina raising her phaser to the vials, Kirk and Drake raising their phasers to the group of Avengers in defense. All of the Canis people instantly freeze around them, expressions varying from shock to worry to anger. “Put down your weapons, or else we destroy this tank,” Adebayo threatens, gesturing to the tank with his phaser.

Kirk steps forward, keeping his phaser raised. “We just want to meet with the Solaran. That is all,” Kirk tells them.

“You? You we will take to the leader. His orders demand it,” one of the grunts says in a broken, gravely voice. “But he also demands that these others be killed.” The all raise their weapons, and Jim’s feet kickstart before his brain can catch up and he runs in front of his brethren. 

“Wait!” he yells out to make everyone pause. They seem to listen to him, but still keep their weapons raised. So, Kirk knew that he was the one they were truly after. “Spare them. Spare them and let them go and they I will order them to lower their weapons and spare your goo. Just let them go back to their ships, I will stay here,” Kirk offers a trade. 

All the captains behind them voice and shout their objections at him, but Jim watches the group of grunts in front of him. They turn to each other with confused expressions and hushed tones, trying to decide what to do. Kirk knew of their simplistic intelligence, and took this chance to sway them in his favor.

“Letting them go will guarantee I will go with you without a fight. You can show your leader how easily you captured and bested Captain Kirk of the Federation. He will be very pleased with that, and pleased with you for bringing me to him in one piece so he can do whatever he wishes to me,” he tries to implant the idea in their heads to win them over. They collectively ponder over it for a moment, and Drake pulls on Kirk’s arm to whisper in his ear.

“There is no way we are just going to let you do this,” he hisses, grip tightening painfully on his arm.

“It’s either I go or we all go and leave our ships vulnerable. You guys need to get back to your ships to end this and keep each other safe. You need to be the ones to make sure that happens,” Kirk whispers back over his shoulder.

“But Jim—"

“Do it for them. Do it for me,” Kirk urges him. Drake swallows back his pride on that, finally letting go of Kirk’s arm. They both startle when one of the Kebb’dians finals speaks again.

“Fine. They may leave. We will destroy their ships anyhow. But you belong to us now,” one of the grunts turns from their discussion to announce. 

“Alright, deal. Let me just make a call my ship to have them transported out of here.” Kirk reaches for the communicator at his side and all the grunts raise their weapons, hissing and spitting orders in their native tongues, all jumbled together. Kirk raises his other hand in a surrendering gesture, slowly raising his hand with the communicator in it to show them it was not a weapon. They still growl and curse at him as they lower their weapons, glaring at him as he flips open the communicator and signals the Enterprise.

_“Cap’n! What is going on over there? Are ‘ye safe?”_ Scotty asks in concern. Kirk’s heart broke at the tone in his voice, and broke knowing what he had to say to his friend next.

“Scotty, listen carefully. I need you to lock transporter signals on Captains Drake, Ahmad and Adebayo and transport them off this ship. I am staying behind to meet with the Solaran leader. I am going to try to negotiate a truce, alone,” Kirk says, trying to speak up over the upset yelling of the other captains behind him. Scotty immediately joins into their chorus of rejection.

_“Cap’n, you have come up with so many outrageous ideas so far but this one takes the cake! This is madness. There is no way I am allowing you to stay on that ship alone. I will beam you out of there myself and face treason if I need be,”_ Scotty goes off on a desperate rant, flustered and scared for his Captain and his friend.

“Scotty! Listen to me. If you try to beam me out now you sentence us all to death, and put all of our ships in danger. If I stay you all will be safe, long enough for me to try to end this peacefully. I am the one he wants. So Scotty beam them out. And tell Spock... to execute the offensive plan if I am not able to negotiate a truce," Kirk swallows the lump in his throat to give the command. It was time to look at the reality of the situation. And the reality of the situation he was now facing. But death and him had become good friends over the years, and losing his life to make sure what he was leaving behind was good.

“Stop with the talking! End the call, now!” one of the Kebb’dians snaps, growing tired of the chit-chat.

“Scotty, beam them out of here!” Kirk yells the order again.

_"Captain no!--"_ As Scotty continues to yell and argue in disagreement, one of the gremlins angrily smacks the communicator out of Kirk’s hand. It clatters and slides across the floor, right to the boot of another grunt.

"Scotty, do it now!" Jim attempts to scream before the grunt crushes his communicator under his boot. Kirk’s heart begins to dissolve in his chest until he hears a familiar whirring sound from behind. 

He looks over his shoulder to see the bright light surrounding the other three captains, vaporizing their bodies from the room and leaving Kirk alone.

He turns to the grunts, dropping his phaser to the ground and wordlessly raising his arms up, offering himself in surrender. Many, too many of them to be practical, rush him to handle him and start forcing him towards the door. They push and claw and shove and hiss and curse at him as they march him down through the garage and back into the hallway. It continues on this way as they finally make it to the end of the hall and push him into the turbolift; luckily the group of grunts cuts down since only a few could fit inside the lift with him. But the three that stay keep a tight grip on Kirk the entire lift ride down. Kirk was surprised the lift could go any lower into the ship.

But such a dark and demented room belonged in the bowels of the ship. It felt as if Kirk has just entered hell itself. The room was dark and desolate, and any of the technology in the room that did work even seemed on the verge of dying. It was unkempt and unmaintained, and the ground was covered with many broken and shattered things that seemed to be in some sort of fit. When Kirk looked up the giant platform, he understood why it was this way instantly. The Solaran was glaring down at him, his harsh eyes simultaneously filled with hatred and frigidly empty. The Solaran then turns and walks away from the edge of his platform, signaling for his people to bring the Captain to him.

The grunts go back to pushing Kirk as they make their way to an old-fashioned mine lift on the side of this platform, hidden away from plain sight. It gave this platform even more of a uninviting vibe.   
They all clamor onto the rickety lift, Kirk praying it would not break while it attempted to bring them to the top. The gods above decide to grant him this wish over all others, and the lift comes to a harsh stop as it levels out with the top of the platform. The Solarans back was to them, and the Kebb’dians push Kirk closer to their leader. They decide they wanted Kirk on his knees to meet their leader, so they kick behind his knee caps to cripple him down the ground.

"Leave us," the Solaran orders, not turning around. His grunts hesitate briefly before leaving, obviously upset for not being allowed to stay and watch what was about to unfold. It would have been nice to see their captain go off on someone other then their own. But they leave their captain and the human alone in frightening silence. But Kirk keeps his game-face on through it, keeping himself breathing.

The Solaran finally turns to the Captain, pure hate and anger scorching his golden irises as he crosses the platform to Kirk. "You! How dare you!" A slap across the face, hard enough to hear across the chamber. "How dare you!" he repeats the curse with another wild swing. "How dare you!" A kick to the ground. He looms above Kirk, panting in absolute rage and glaring down at the human lying disoriented on his floor. Kirk wipes away the blood on the corner of his mouth from when he bit his cheek.

"Your kind are nothing but demons. Thinking you can just take what you want, destroy whatever pleases you, go wherever you wish with no consideration to others!" 

Kirk doesn't fight him back right away, knowing rushing into a heated fight would just push the Solaran past the point of no return. He needed to do this the right way, and at least offer a chance to the Solaran. What he did beyond that, beyond this, was completely up to him. But Kirk knew he would not subject himself to take this. 

The Solaran picks Kirk up off the floor by his hair, Kirk struggling against his hold only making the pain worse. The Solaran brings his face close enough for Kirk to feel breath against his skin. “You. I will savor this time, to put you through a hell you have never even dreamed of before. I would be lying if I said this was purely out of vengeance, for I am going to enjoy this very much.” 

The shiver that ran through Kirk’s spine was all the motivation he needed. Kirk rips his head out of the Solarans grasp, and using the momentum of his swing swings his legs around to land a harsh kick to the Solaran’s side. He topples over with the air being knocked out of him, and now it was Kirk’s turn to stand above the Solaran. “I am not here to be tortured by you. I am here to give YOU the one last chance. Either give up this vendetta you have against my people, end this senseless madness and violence once and for all, or let it be your own destruction. 

“I am here to save lives, my people’s and your people’s both. And right now, you are the bigger danger than that planet being destroyed. So, I will do everything I must to protect them all: even if that means destroying you myself. But it is your choice,” Kirk explains, giving the Solaran his own glare. Not of hatred and anger, but of determination and dedication. “And trust me, once you are gone, your vendetta will end with you. I will make sure of it.”

The Solaran picks himself off the ground, staring down at the floor. His eyes were wide and glazed over, every word out of Kirk’s mouth fueling a fire that blinded Dius even more. Kirk sensed this and knew what was coming, even before the Solaran could finally speak. “Never. Never. Never!” he repeats, his yelling growing louder each time. He raises himself off the ground slowly, like a snake getting ready to strike.

“I will never allow my people, MY PEOPLE, to be under the power of the likes of you. It will never happen, and I will take you down with my own hand to make sure of it. Then, your precious ships and Federation will be next. Nothing will stop this except the annihilation of your kind from this galaxy!” From inside his golden robe, hidden against his back underneath cover, Dius pulls out a phaser and aims it right for Kirk’s head. Dius’s finger pulls against the trigger just as Kirk makes evasive maneuvers and rushes toward Dius to disarm him.

But that was the only shot that rang out. Everything goes deathly silent. Dius freezes in his actions, eyes going wide and mouth going agape. He even seemed to stop breathing. He does not turn around to get a look at the source of his demise, but Kirk is able to catch a glimpse over Dius' side of Hassarah sticking a blade right into his back. Golden blood begins to trickle down the landscape of his back, pooling into a shining lake at his feet.

Dius lets out a cry of pain as Hassarah twists the knife, making the wound even wider and preventing it from closing. Hassarah removes the blade from Dius' back, moving backward to watch his captain stumble in his own blood as his senses begin to swim. Dius refuses to turn around and acknowledge the source of this ultimate betrayal, and of his demise. He would keep his pride about him until the very end. His lips become painted with gold as he opens his mouth to speak. "And you, Hassarah?" Dius says with a low growl. He then falls to the ground, landing limp and lifeless in a pool of his blood.

Kirk looks up in horror from the massacre at the blue being now towering above him. The alien examines the blade still in his hand, and then throws it away at his side, not caring where it lands. He then kneels to the ground, coming to level with Kirk.

"You promise to help my people?" he asks up-front, his soft tone betraying his hard eyes. Kirk just simply nods, not needing any elaborate answers beyond that. Then the creature extends one of his long arms to Kirk, helping the human to his feet as he stands and holding onto Kirk’s hand.

"Then, as acting Captain of this fleet, I end this war, and ask for your help to save our people."


	26. What We Are Is Not What We Could Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How did everyone like the end of the last chapter? One major story arc down, one more to go!! It's really nearing it's end now and just needing some tying up (my heart is so nervous and excited about what is coming up next for you guys), but there is just one major thing that is left to be taken care of: the bond between Leonard and Snoon. They now journey to New Vulcan on their way back to Earth to have the bond dissolved, but Snoon has one major secret about the bond that she has been keeping from us all. Now we get to turn our focus onto Leonard and Snoon, just like they deserve! So hold onto your hates everyone, this is going to be a bumpy and crazy ride!
> 
> Ratings: T  
> Warnings: minor mentions of past trauma, no major warnings from here on out- it's just gonna get really angsty and fluffy

_Captains log: Stardate 13.9.63  
The war with the Canis Avengers has come to an official end. Captain Hassarah has called off the troops and has re-ordered a peaceful alliance between the Canis Avengers with the Fleet to begin the rescue efforts. Since the Canis people appear to have a loyal and hive-mentality, most switched over to the new plan easily. Any issues of opposition with the new order was dealt within the Canis law and ways. _

_The Federation has now official been ordered to partner with the Canis Avengers to assist in a rescue effort for those on Demarxus. This will be the first world, and the first time the Canis people and the Federation will come to an alliance. Official negotiations will commence at a later date, with Hassarah being the official representative of his people as the Canis Avengers being the seated power of the dwarf galaxy. No words yet on whether or not the Solaran's will be a part of these negotiations._

_We have helped to start the first rounds of evacuations from Demarxus. Upon the generosity and direction of Captain Francis Drake, he has taken over leadership of the mission to begin the evacuation of the Canis people from Demarxus to allow us to head off on our next task. I know Captains Drake, Ahmad, and Adebayo will see that this mission is successful up until the end._

_We are now docked on the planet New Vulcan, for an urgent medical issue regarding the CMO Leonard Horatio McCoy and the Vulcan refugee Snoon. We are spending the day here on the surface and have been invited to an intimate gathering to be a part of the ceremony for the breaking of their bond. We shall resume orbit tomorrow morning to return to Earth, leaving Snoon on the planet with her people._

 

The planet of New Vulcan was an advanced world. Many towering buildings and structures and temples were raised high above the sandy grounds in the mountains, overlooking the pristine desert landscape. The powerful sun and many mini suns that lined the horizon lit up the entire planet, leaving hardly any shadows or places to hide away from the light. Many native creatures of the planet wandered freely about, having become used to the Vulcan society in their habitat and leaving them alone, and vice versa. 

Snoon looks out at this world, noticing all of these things about it. Noticing all the things so different from her home world, noticing how wrong and miserable it felt to her. Logically, Snoon knew her people would be safe and have their needs met from this world. It was a good host planet; similar in many ways to their native world. But the sands did not have that same call to her as her home world did. And that did not settle right with Snoon. However, none of this truly did.

Snoon had arrived on New Vulcan one day prior with the Enterprise crew. All of the crew had been given a short shore leave and were welcome to beam down to the planet. The bridge crew had been invited along with her to stay in the Elders' Temple, placed in the highest of the mountains in the valley. 

The Elders' Temple contained all of the documents and artifacts from Vulcan society and history, plus housed many of the remaining council members and mind healers. Snoon was invited to stay there until the colony could provide housing for her. And an invitation to stay in the Temple was extended to the main members involved with the bond that was to be broken by T'Pau- Leonard, Jim as his best friend, Spock as her companion and family, and Uhura, Scotty and Sulu as important persons. They all also were invited to overlook the private ceremony, in support of their friends, that would commence at high noon today.

The sun was positioned in the sky just before its peak. It warmed the sands and her skin, but left Snoon feeling cold inside. She missed the feeling of a warm sun, but today it did not soothe her soul as it once did. Snoon reprimands her mind for its wandering thoughts, but it could not stop. How foolish of her to mourn the loss of something that was not truly hers.

To her side, she senses someone approach- knowing intuitively it was Spock- but makes no move to acknowledge him. He just falls into place- looking over her pristine white robes that looked even more flush against her warm skin, adorned with silver decal and accessories- before he joins her in looking out at the landscape from the balcony. 

"These sands... they are not the same as our home-world," Snoon mentions to him, solemnly.

He does not reply immediately as he looks at the sands. "It is not the same," he agrees. "But it will suffice for our people," Spock tries to supply helpfully. Snoon cannot find fault with his logic, so she just falls back into uncomfortable silence, and biting her tongue. Spock notices this shift and points it out immediately, not 'getting the hint'.

"Your silence implies a sense of disdain. Does this come from our new world or with the upcoming ceremony?"

"It makes no difference to discuss this, Spock," Snoon attempts to avoid his questioning.

"It is only logical to discuss the things that weigh so heavily on your mind. Your thoughts only have power over you as long as you make them more important than everything else." Snoon also cannot find fault with that logic, so she finds no logical alternative but to speak the truth, if not the whole truth.

"I have been thinking about the ceremony. What it will be like, how much it will hurt, what it will be like after the bond is gone... There are not many texts that explain what a dissolving of a bond is like."

"It is a very uncommon practice for Vulcans, even in the pre-reform eras. Since Vulcan's are bonded from childhood to suitors of mental compatibility, the need for bond dissolving has nearly become eradicated. However, we all knew the bond was only necessary to save your life," Spock supplies. 

He looks over at her when she continues to remain silent, seeming unsettled and perturbed by his words. "Correct me if I am mistaken...You appear to be... upset about the termination of your bond. Yet, you were the one who called the council together to have it dissolved. I am confused by your state of upset," Spock explains to her, hoping to prompt some clarification. The truth weighed heavily on her tongue, and the pain this secret brought her nearly numbed her to it at this point.

"Leonard is my t'hy'la," she tells Spock outright. 

Spock says nothing for a long while, just stares at Snoon in shock. "Has the council been made aware of this?" Spock finally regroups and asks her.

"No. And I do not intend to tell them. It is of no importance and makes no difference. The bond is still to be terminated." 

"Logically, the fact that you share a t'hy'la bond with the doctor makes all the difference. Why would you...." he cuts himself off when it clicks in his mind. "You have not told Leonard the significance of your bond," Spock realizes. Snoon just nods her head in the affirmative. 

"I do not understand, Snoon. If the doctor is your t'hy'la, then this is a rare and good thing. You must tell the council and Leonard the significance of your bond." 

Out of weariness of carrying this secret alone, and of fighting the feeling for so long, Snoon stays silent for a long moment before she finally turns to look at Spock and speak with a drained tone. "It is my t'hy'la's wish not to be bonded to me. So, I must respect and adhere to my t'hy'la's wishes, even if they go against my own." 

They both just stand there in silence for a long moment, staring at each other as the sands in the distance continued to roll by. "Then... I grieve with thee, for thy loss," Spock finally says, a little absently. Snoon can only nod her head with him, thinking _'me too'_ , before walking away. She was sick of seeing pitying faces, and sands that did not look right.  
\--------------------------------------------

Leonard doesn't respond when the knock comes at his door. He doesn't need to- already knowing who it was- and his mind was already too preoccupied as he stares blankly at the clothes on his bed. The Vulcan counsel had given him a robe- _a ceremonial Vulcan robe_ \- to wear for the occasion today. And he could not stop staring at it; either wanting to break out into a fit of laughter at the joke of finally seeing a "Vulcan ceremonial robe" or rip it up to shreds. 

Eventually, the guest at his door let's themselves in, and gets to see Leonard in his stupor. He gently closes the door behind him. "I thought I would bring us some lunch before the ceremony. Since Vulcans are vegetarians, it was hard to find anything tangible. They like putting everything into soups, but I think this one looks appetizing. Also, I wanted to find something light just in case you get a bit queasy from when they have to break the bond. Good thing they didn't give you a white robe or else--"

"Jim," Leonard calls to interrupt his rambling, not even turning around to acknowledge his friend and his efforts. He couldn't really appreciate the gesture right now. "I think... I just need some time alone, kid. Thanks for the soup, though."

Jim places all the food down on the table dejectedly. "Ok. That's fine. I'll just be in the next room if you need to talk about anything," Jim says, making his way to the door. When he reaches it he stands half-in, half-out of it for a moment, keeping himself lingering on that nervous feeling that wouldn't go away. "Hey, Bones? Are you sure there isn't anything you need to talk about? You seem really out of it."

"What makes you say that?" Leonard asks, finally looking over his shoulder at Jim curiously.

"You just don't seem... 'excited'? No... relieved to finally be doing this is all."

"It's not exactly a party, kid," Leonard says blankly. "And I am relieved; this whole situation has been stressful. It'll be better once it is just over with."

Jim didn't buy it. "Well, if this was Spock you would be banging down the council’s door demanding that they remove the bond right away," Jim tries to use an extreme comparison to shed some light. 

"If this was Spock in my head, then I would throw an actual fiesta for gettin' rid of him," he says dryly. Jim gives an absent laugh at his joke. "What are you trying to get at, kid?" Leonard asks. Jim shuffles to find his right wording for a moment.

"I don't know. Like I said, you almost seem hesitant and upset to go through with this ceremony. Maybe it could just be nerves- I don't know for certain- but like I said, you're not exactly charging off to get this bond broken either. And for you, I think that speaks measures. Just, it seems like things have changed between you and Snoon since you first got bonded. And, in a good way too, for you both."

"… So what are you saying, exactly?" Leonard asks in monotone.

"Bones... Do you love her?" Jim dares to ask.

Leonard's voice attempts to sound like Leonard's voice as he speaks, but it does not quite make it. "She's a hobgoblin, Jim. She drives me up a wall! We have completely different values and ways of looking at life; we clash constantly. We would just be so wrong for each other in the long haul... It can’t end up well," he trails off, with an unsure and quiet tone. 

Jim wants to be there for his friend, he truly does. He wants to console him and make him feel better and even give him an out of this- seeing how conflicted and upset he was getting. But Jim knew what Leonard needed right now was his own good dose of southern- medicine, and of truth. He comes up to look his friend square in the eye.

"Are you telling me the reasons, or yourself? And that's not an answer to the question I asked, Bones," Jim responds. Leonard's fluster then transforms into something of a frustration, something defensive.

"This bond was just temporary! To save her life. She wants it to end, too. She was the one who asked the Vulcan Counsel for this ceremony to happen as soon as possible! It has to end!" Leonard argues. 

Jim just stands there for a moment, before he speaks. "But does it?"

The words linger heavy over them both. Leonard can't add anything more to that, he had nothing else to give. Leonard just looks over at him, his expression nearing the point of either crying or losing it all together. Jim places both of his hands on Leonard's shoulders, and squeezes them tightly.

"I love you both. Whatever you decide I will support you. So just make sure you know the answer before you go into that chamber." With all that can be said already said, Jim turns and leaves the room, giving Leonard the alone time he asked for. 

Leonard wasn't sure if he liked it now.


	27. Our Sacred Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time has come for the bond to be dissolved. But from previous chapters and experience, we all know that things with Leonard and Snoon never are what they seem. This chapter gets very angsty, so be prepared for that as we enter the space of their t'hy'la bond!
> 
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: mentions of past trauma, tons and tons of angst (mainly from Snoon wtf Snoon?!)

When the sun reached its highest point in the sky, everyone gathered in the Vulcan High Council's ceremonial chambers. The room was almost shaped like an old Roman colosseum, or a gymnasium: high bleacher- like seats around all sides of the room that created a perfect floor of red clay in the center. Jim, Uhura, Spock, Sulu and Scotty were all seated next to each other, surrounded by a few other Vulcans from the Surak lineage and the Vulcan High counsel up front. 

Leonard and Snoon were already down in the center of the colosseum, waiting for the High Priestess to arrive. Leonard tried to ignore all the spectators, but failed. "Do we really need to have this many people watching? Kind feels like a peep show going on," Leonard mutters with eyes shifting to look around at all the stoic faces examining him, watching him, taking in this private moment for their entertainment. 

"The purpose of these spectators is simply traditional. In pre-reform days, breaking of the bonds had to be observed to make sure no harm or interference would come to those involved, and for families to make sure the bond was truly broken for arranging new bonds to be made."

Leonard is a little thrown by how archaic that all sounded. "So it's like when people in old England would hold court to determine if a woman's virtue was intact for marriage?"

"An obtuse analogy, but as close as a human can get, I suppose," Snoon says with a not-eye-roll. Leonard gives a small smile in victory at that, but it is quickly wiped from his face with the large wooden doors creaking open, and an elderly Vulcan woman being carried in through the light. She was seated on a massive throne that needed 4 burly-looking Vulcans to carry it upon their shoulders. It was just like how the Greek’s and Roman’s used to carry in their emperors, and Leonard is one again struck with how archaic it all seemed.

Her "traditional robes" were colorful and complex, with many layers piling on top of one another, and her jewelry of bright stones and gold followed the same suit. Her hair and ears were hidden away by a headdress, but the point of her brow seemed even harsher than that of any Vulcan he had ever met. And all the wrinkles on her face were definitely from frown lines. She carried the air of a noble woman, and the way that all of the Vulcans in the room immediately silenced proved Leonard's assumption. This must be the legendary T'Pau: the only person to ever turn down a seat on the Federation Council.

The High Priestess T'Pau descends from her throne once it is placed down in front of Snoon and Leonard. The attendants silently carry it away as T’Pau turns her attention to you first. _"Snoon Mes-tor Ye-halek, I am pleased to see you in good health and back home with us,"_ she says, offering the Vulcan salute to her. Snoon returns it in kind. The gesture was nothing nearly sentimental to the naked eye, but Leonard was able to tell underneath the customs this was a joyous reunion to them both.

 _"Thank you, Lady T'Pau. I am grateful to the crew of the Enterprise for bringing me to this planet, and the Council for assisting me to become settled on this new colony. It is thanks to Spock and the crew of the USS Enterprise that I am alive and here now,"_ Snoon informs her, giving Spock and the others the credit they deserve, and the lady T'Pau turns to look at Spock in the stands.

"The crew of the Enterprise have done commendable work- in the rescue of all of the prisoners in that slave cell, and rescuing Snoon to return her home to us. They have our gratitude," she switches to English to announce. The crew of the Enterprise figured that was as much of an acknowledgement and praise that they would get, so they took it with nods and salutes of gratitude. She turns back to Snoon with some private words. “It a time such as this for our people, it is important for us to stick together. ‘This planet’ will soon become home to you again, Snoon. Knowest here you are safe and among your brethren.” 

T'Pau immedietly breaks the moment and turns her attention to Leonard. "So, we wish to break the bond between you and this human?" T'Pau asks to Snoon, her eyes sizing up Leonard. Even though he could not tell what she was thinking exactly, he knew he did not like it.

"Yes, Lady T'Pau," Snoon speaks up. "This is Doctor Leonard McCoy, Chief Medical Officer of the Enterprise. He was my attending physician after my rescue and during my Pon Farr. The bond was simply formed to end an unexpected and untimely Pon Farr. The Enterprise was involved in a time-sensitive mission and it was the only option. Leonard offered to bond with me to save my life."

T'Pau flashes a glare at Snoon for the slip-up in familiar way she addressed him in front of her, and Snoon turns down her eyes in shame. T'Pau then turns to Leonard, and he has to stop his heart from jumping out of his chest, wanting to avoid being on the receiving end of that glare. But her eyes soften in a miniscule but sincere way when she looks at him. "That was a very honorable thing to do, Leonard McCoy. You have the gratitude of the Council for saving the life of one of our own," she says. He calms down a bit at the unexpected praise. Not quite what he expected from her, but nice none the less.

"Yeah. Um, no problem," he finally speaks, honestly not sure what to say to that.

“Typically, it is against Vulcan tradition to perform a termination of a bond so frivolously. Especially without any counseling or reflection before the council is called to approve the request. However, given the circumstances of this bond and upon the urgency of the request for this termination, we shall commence the ceremony now. Kneel," the lady T'Pau orders. 

Snoon immediately drops to her knees- knowing the tradition of a bond assessment- but Leonard hesitates as he drops to his knees. He looks over to the crowd for his friends, the varying expressions on their faces doing nothing to settle his nerves. His eyes then float down to Snoon across from him, and the nerves harden and sink in his stomach and in his chest. The look in her eye somehow made him feel even worse, and he could not place the emotions floating around those blue irises or in his chest.

The lady T'Pau's fingers latch onto the side of his face, causing him to jump. "Now, close your eyes and clear your thoughts. Focus only on your breathing, and allow each breath to bring tranquility and openness to your minds," T'Pau uses the cues to guide them into a meditative space. Leonard takes a deep breath to calm the nerves fluttering in his stomach before he attempts to close his eyes and empty his mind. Only trying to force the calm only makes him feel more on edge. Once he is in a calm-enough state, however, the priestess is able to take over with directing the flow of his mind.

_The meld began, and a deeper darkness starts to replace the normal diluted darkness behind Leonard's eyes. All of his senses seem to fade and heighten simultaneously. At the same time, a mental image of himself opens it's eyes, trying to look around and understand what was going on. He could all at once be aware of his physical body in the real world, and see this mental image of himself in this darkness. It pulled him in completely and surrounded him, leaving him alone and feeling trapped. He tried in vain to notice anything around him, but it was void of any sign of life._

_"Snoon?" he calls out, still attempting in vain to see anything around him. He prayed that she was somewhere in this abyss too._

_"Calm your mind, Doctor McCoy," the voice of the priestess rings out from the darkness, and Leonard could not pinpoint from exactly where. It seemed to rig out from every direction. But there was no sign of her, or anything, anywhere. It was just the darkness, and the sound of his own pounding heart in his ears. He felt the sweat starting to drip down his face and his neck, his nervous system on overdrive to prepare for whatever was to come from this darkness._

_Pain. Lightning that struck and attempted to split open his skull like a tree trunk in a storm, and the waves radiated through his entire body. He begins to cripple at the intensity of it, trying keep standing and to curl into himself to shield himself from the pain. But it just kept striking and striking without relent._

_"What the hell is this?" he curses mentally through clenched teeth. His pain turns into hot anger and frustration in his mind._ His physical body is unable to make any sort of higher functioning noises, his lungs empty of air as it curled in on itself. His friends look on concerned and nervous, no clue as to what was going on.

_"Control your emotions, Doctor McCoy," the priestess' voice lectures him, loud and harsh in his mind. "Your anger will only make this more difficult."_

_"Relax, Leonard," Snoon’s voice then whispers in his ear. "She is merely breaking down and dissolving the barriers around the bond," she explains, her voice more soothing and kind than that of the priestess to Leonard. How did he ever think she could be as cold as some of these other Vulcans?_

_"Snoon? You're here too?" he calls out, now looking around in the dark space with a vigor to find her._

_"Yes, Leonard. The shields are being dissolved and the priestess is exposing the bond, so it is open again. I am here with you. And I am sorry."_

_Another lightning bolt of pain shoots down Leonard's spine, this time strong enough to cripple his mental-image-self to his knees. He even hears a choked noise of pain from Snoon, and that noise hits him hard in the gut. If she felt nearly as much pain as he did...this was too much._

_"Stop this. Stop this now. I-- I can't take this. It's too much," he gasps out, nearing the point of sobs._

_"Hang on Leonard. Our bond-- It is nearly terminated," she informs him, comfortingly. Snoon did not know if the near-sobs in her own voice were from the intense pain in her mind or in her heart._

_He feels her send him more calming waves, and he pushes them away in frustration; angry that in a time like this, even with Snoon being in so much pain, she would be concerned about him. And frustrated that with her calling for such a quick termination of their bond that she was still trying to seem so kind, like she actually cared. Even though he knew she did._

_The flashes start in his mind. The night they bonded, how scarred and vulnerable Snoon was but how she seemed to almost purr and meld to his touch. Their shared time in his quarters, how awkward and forced it seemed at times, and then the times he would catch himself thinking how natural it was for her to be there. The way she charged into that Medbay to save his life, the look in her eyes once you knew he was safe. How safe he felt with Snoon being there during that time, and that night in the observation room._

_It was not a logical internal debate nor a logical compulsion to push Snoon away now, but he was never one to pride himself on logic. And nothing he was feeling was logical, but he was feeling it. Maybe that was all that mattered._

_"Leonard McCoy, you are resisting my presence in your bond. Lower your defenses," the priestess commands._

_"No... no. This isn't right. I can't do this! Get out of my head!" he yells, attempting to raise the shields up even stronger and push her away._

_A lighting storm hits him then, trying to shatter the shields he had raised and crumbling them and him to the ground. "This is necessary to break your bond. Yield, Leonard McCoy," the priestess commands harshly, sending more lightning through him. He did not know if she was doing this towards the bond or to punish him personally. He could not even pick himself up off the ground; yelling and cursing did not help to relieve the pain in his skull. It was like she was shredding apart his soul._

_"The less you resist, the quicker you will be rid of this bond, and of your tie to Snoon. Your duty will be over," the priestess attempts to entice him to give up his resistance so that this may finally end._

_That's where something sparked alive in Leonard. Something he didn't even know he had inside of him until now- or something he shut down before- flares up at her words. In this space an unfiltered and wild energy springs forward every last part of his body. It is pulled from him, fills him, rips through his walls from the inside and moves up through him. The darkness pulled everything from those trapped in it, and this was the very essence of Leonard that was being released. A whisper without words bubbles up in his throat and comes out of his own mouth, his mind knowing that this was the unfiltered truth being released from it’s depths._

_"Who said I wanted to be rid of Snoon? Of course... of course I don't,” he admits. “And maybe, that's what this is about. I don't want to have to lose Snoon! I am not ready to let her go yet!"_

_The priestess notices this drastic change in his katra, how it flared to life beyond his natural human suppression. She immediately stops in her actions, assessing the strength and power behind his katra, and what it had been called forward to do. She then steps back from the bond, quietly observing what both of their katras would do now._

_Leonard takes off in the darkness in no particular direction. He knew you were here. He had to find you. "Snoon! Snoon!" He calls her name into the darkness and runs for an immeasurable amount of time and distance, not satisfied until he finds her here and knows she is safe._

_Snoon’s katra was lying lifelessly in limbo, just waiting for it all to end, trying to shield itself from the loss of it’s only true half. The pain had ended from the breaking of the bond, but she had stopped feeling it a long time ago; already consumed by the pain of losing her t’hy’la. Nothing else in the galaxy- past, present or future- could be a worse pain than that. Nothing in the galaxy would ever feel whole or alive or bright ever again._

_From the cold place Snoon had buried her katra away from the meld, she hears a voice call to her. Snoon blankly lifts her head up, instinctually responding to the sound she hears. "Leonard?" she wonders with the little hope she had left, and look up into the darkness. Snoon sees an image of him, running towards her. Her t’hy’la was still here with her, searching for her. Her katra came alive instantly, the fire within burning her into a rebirth._

_Across the bond Snoon flies into Leonard's arms, holding him close as the darkness around them began to fade into bright, warm light._

 

Snoon and Leonard are thrown from the meld at the same time, physically thrown onto the ground from the break. Leonard choking and gagging trying to regain his breathing and control of his senses as they swirl around him in vertigo. He feels Snoon’s gentle touch on his back, feels the waves of _'calm'_ and _'relax Leonard, it will all be alright now'_ and greedily clings to them, takes them in like needed oxygen. All of the talking around him sounds as if it was underwater, and he can barely make out the Priestess’s words. Her tone was cold and unforgiving. 

"Why was the council not informed you share a t'hy'la bond with this human?" the Priestess asks, coldly staring at the pair down her nose.

All of the air seems to drain from the colosseum as soon as the word is said aloud. Everyone in the room- or everyone with the knowledge of the Vulcan language- collectively gains a shocked look on their faces. Uhura covers her mouth with her hand, stifling a gasp. The bridge crew looks around and looks on at the scene in alarm and confusion.

Keeping her hand on Leonard's back, for his comfort and her support, Snoon attempts to stand on shaky knees as she responds to the priestess. "Because it is not relevant. The bond must still be dissolved. It was my foolishness and desire to hold onto the bond that made this happen. We must try again. I will not be so weak willed this time." 

The elder shifts her piercing eyes over to Leonard, assessing the human with a dubious eye. "Is the human aware of the significance of your bond?" Leonard feels Snoon start to flare up at the Elder's questioning. _Agitation, impatience, hurt._

"He does not need to be influenced by matters that do not pertain to him. He wishes to have the bond dissolved. So I, and the council, must respect that." Even Leonard could hear the snap in her tone as she hisses those last words. He attempts to open his eyes, to look up at her face, to understand what is going on. His head lurches again as the light invades his eyes and he crumbles. He feels Snoon’s touch again on his head; cradling it, sending more direct waves to ease the pounding in his mind. The priestess observes this scene long enough to give Leonard a chance to regroup and clearly hear her next words.

"He may be a mere human, but his heart has come to recognize the significance of your bond on its own level,” she informs Snoon. Snoon looks up at the priestess, not understanding what she means. Not truly knowing what transpired in that darkness on both sides like T’Pau did. She would let Snoon discover it on her own. “One or more of the parties in this ceremony is unwilling to terminate this bond, and that will is placing a block on the bond so I cannot reach it. It cannot be broken as is right now. The bond still wishes to survive."

Everyone watches on with held breath as the priestess reveals the truth. Curious thoughts and whispers begin to be thrown around. Spock could even spot a confused look Leonard was making, and the horror clearly painted on Snoon’s face. You must be thinking... you were the one who was preventing the bond from being broken.

The priestess begins to walk away and towards the door, leaving them both behind her. "Collect yourselves and make haste to truly decide what needs to be done with this bond. Both of you must come to an agreement. I shall be in my chambers awaiting your decision." With that, she opens the doors and leaves.

Murmurs begin to slowly fill the room, growing louder and more uninhibited now that the priestess was gone. Scotty, Sulu, Uhura, Kirk and Spock all look on anxiously at their friends, at what spectacle might unfold now. When Leonard's eyes finally make their way up to Snoon’s- the upset and confusion apparent in his irises- the look and her own shame stabs her directly in the heart. Snoon cannot take it any longer.

She runs.


	28. That New Car Smell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DAY 6. THE DAY WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. Including me. This is the part of the story that I have had in my head for a few years now. When thinking of this story, this is the part my mind always wanders too and my personal favorite. I have written this scene between Leonard and Snoon time and time again to the track ‘That New Car Smell’ from the 2009 OST, so for the full effect of the scene I recommend listening to it in the background! Now the reader tells Leonard all about the t’hy’la bond, and he must make a decision on what to do with their bond. It all comes down to this moment for our pair. So read on and enjoy this big moment!  
> Tomorrow, for the finale, will be the epilogue to tie the whole series together and bring it to a close!  
> Word count: 3698  
> Rating: T  
> Warnings: minor mentions of past traumas, lots of angst and then it gets super romantic

After Snoon and Leonard ran off, everyone else slowly started to file out of the chamber. Jim chased after Spock, while Scotty and Sulu followed after Uhura to ask some questions. Like,

"What in all the blazing 'ells just 'appened?" Scotty shouts rhetorically, the sound bouncing off of the pathway carved into the side of the mountain. The sunlight outside was so intense in the noon hour that the light was still able to reach inside the mountain, making everything around them even brighter and more pristine. 

"Uhura, what were you able to make of all of that?" Sulu stops her in the hall to ask. She glances around nervously and pulls Sulu and Scotty off to the side, out of earshot of the other Vulcans.

"Well, it's a highly personal matter so I cannot say much, but it looks like the priestess discovered that they have a very strong bond. Basically, they are the most compatible two minds can be."

"Seriously? The doctor and Snoon? He hates Vulcans!" Scotty shouts, and both Uhura and Sulu try to shush him and keep him mindful of the crowd they were around. Scotty grows quiet in embarrassment, listening to Uhura carefully.

"It’s definitely unexpected, given their background. But there is no mistake in it, a t'hy'la bond is sacred in this culture."

"So this bond... it makes sense then why Snoon would be hesitant to let it go," Sulu says, some things clicking together in his mind from what was said, and some things just still too confusing.

"Something T'Pau said, and the way she acted after the meld ended makes me curious though. If it was just a matter of Snoon not wanting to let go of the bond, T'Pau would have just reprimanded her. But she said ‘one or more parties is unwilling’. Normally Vulcans are not that vague unless they find reason to be. And the way Leonard chased after Snoon after she left..." Uhura tappers off her sentence, not quite sure how to say what she was thinking or if what she was thinking was really the way it appeared to be.

"You mean to say... the doctor is in love with her too?" Scotty finishes her thought with a look of astonishment. They all just exchange shocked and worried looks, not knowing what was going to happen to their friends now.

\---------------------------------------------------------

“Spock! Spock, wait up!” Jim calls out, jogging up to Spock’s side. Spock finally relents in his stride and stops in the middle of the hallway, so Jim can catch up and catch his breath. The Vulcans just continue to pass them by. “Why did you run out of there so quickly? What happened in there? Is everything ok?” Jim asks through his short breaths, hoping Spock can explain to him why everyone seemed so upset about all of this. Spock’s pinched face did not help to settle his nerves.

“Snoon revealed to me earlier today the secret she had been keeping about her bond with Leonard. She felt it was best to keep the information from Leonard, to not influence his wishing to terminate their bond. And since she kept their bond closed in respect of his wishes, she does not know his regards towards her. I believe she has misunderstood the High Priestess’ words and is placing all of the blame of the failed attempt of terminating the bond on herself, and believes Leonard will be upset with her for it. She does not seem to believe that the doctor could return her feelings,” Spock speculates, worried for his friend. She seemed too quick to place the blame on herself, even when she was clearly not at fault for this.

“A t’hy’la bond between Bones and Snoon, huh? Wow. Who would have guessed Leonard was meant to be with a Vulcan for all eternity, huh?” Jim muses aloud, and Spock sends him a brow that nearly disappeared underneath his bangs. “Another thing I learned about from that meld with Elder Spock on Delta Vega,” Jim says to brush off Spock’s skeptical look.

Spock is the one to regroup and get them back on track. “If there is a chance Leonard could return her regards… I must find the doctor and convince him to go and speak with Snoon. He must make this right with her before it becomes too late,” Spock says, the pinched expression on his face becoming even tighter. Jim would have laughed with how endearing it all was if not for the fact that Spock seemed as if he was ready to go grab a shotgun.

“Woah, woah fella! No need to play the overprotective big brother! Besides, if you actually try to beat up Bones you might smash open his skull like a watermelon,” Jim comes to stand in front of the Vulcan to corral him. “Look, Bones already ran after Snoon, that’s a huge show of how much he cares for her right there. They are both a little awkward when it comes to expressing their true feelings, and us trying to push them won’t help them. This is something they need to figure out on their own, and we just have to trust that they will find a way to meet in the middle. They will come through for each other; like they have since the moment they met. They are good for each other that way.” 

Jim claps Spock on the shoulder, offering him some comfort and solace, and he helps to turn him around and guide him back to where their other friends were waiting.

\-----------------------------------------------------

He had finally found someone who could tell him where Snoon had run off too. It took a bit of manipulation and prying on his part since the Vulcan clearly did not feel comfortable with showing him to the private sanctum of the elder's temple. Hardly any natives of this society were allowed in these chambers, and for a human to disturb the sanctity of it was incomprehensible. 

The doors were carved right into the cliff the building was built against, creating a clear but private path into the cave. Leonard heavily pushes against the large stone doors until they finally swing open, more darkness escaping the room than light entering it. A strong scent of fresh incense wafts into his nose and tickles it, and as he reflexively sneezes he is hit with a distant memory of Spock meditating with incense. Snoon never did. He begins to realize how much she held back for his comfort, for his sake. There were many sides of her culture, of her that he had yet to experience or even see...like this secret chamber she was hiding in. 

The chamber was lined with few candles, barely enough to see the ancient looking statues and stone pillars adorning the room. Treasures and history saved from the old Vulcan world. Snoon was standing on the far side of the cave in front of a large tablet of ancient writing with her back facing him, not even flinching or indicating any acknowledgement of his presence, even though he knew she could hear him.

Without hesitation, he marches up behind Snoon as he calls out to her. "I knew that word was something special; it would take a lot for you to find logic in pet names. But it means more to your people, more to you, doesn't it?" 

When he reaches her, she makes no move to turn towards him and he makes no move to turn her around. He just pleads with her. "So tell me what it means. What does 't'hy'la' mean, Snoon?" he asks her with an earnest eagerness in his tone. 

It takes her a moment to fully turn to face him, the truth weighing her down. She looks down at his shoes, contemplating her right words before Snoon finally looks into Leonard’s hazel eyes. The shining eyes of her entire world.

"The word 't'hy'la' is an ancient word, one that comes from before Vulcan's had adopted logic to control our primal ways. It is a piece of our history, a piece of our culture. It is our way. It translates as 'friend', 'brother', 'lover'. Or in your world, a soulmate."

The word hit Leonard like a ton of bricks and freezes him in place, mind gone completely blank. Soulmates? He and Snoon... were soul mates? He didn't even know what shocked him more: that soul mates even existed or that his soulmate was from an entirely different planet. He wasn't even sure if he was a believer in all of this, but now it was all in front of his face.

Snoon keeps explaining when she notices his shock, hoping eventually something would shock him back to life. "It is a connection of katras- of souls- that is extremely rare and never to be taken lightly. I sensed it the moment we bonded, the joining of our souls into one." 

"Then why?" he finally speaks, voice cracking and dry. "If you knew all this from the beginning... if you felt this way... why did you push to go through with the termination of the bond so quickly then?" Leonard asks, fury starting to rise from confusion, from hurt, from feeling betrayed. Snoon looks up at him as if she knew all of these emotions, even with the blocked bond.

"Because you are my t'hy'la, and I can deny you nothing." Those words alone made Leonard's heart simultaneously sink and soar. 

"You made it clear from before we were bonded how uncomfortable being bonded made you feel, and that you wished this to only be temporary. I did not wish to force my beloved into something that made him so unhappy. And I wished to repay your kindness in some way, even if it meant letting you go."

Then it all clicked for Leonard- the blocked bond. There was no way she could have known how he felt, what had happened in that meld with the priestess. Because he asked for his feelings, and the bond, to remained blocked to her. How foolish of him now, how stupid of him to expect that she would understand- even though she seemed to understand him so well. He swallows his nerves and fear, his last blocks, and begins to speak from that place that came to life in their meld.

"Snoon, I was fine on my own. I've been fine on my own for too long a time. After all that my ex-wife had done to me, taken from me, I had my place, my work, my friends. I was content with where I was. Thinking that was where I would just would always stay.

"And then meeting you, bonding with you shattered all of that. It turned my world upside down, forced me to do many things I was uncomfortable with at first. It showed me what it was to have to truly let someone in and have them see everything, and I thought I wanted to get away from that.

"But..." He chokes on this part of his confession. This is where things got hard to handle, where things were overwhelming and heavy. Things he didn't even fully understand being forced into the light. "I can't...I don't want to go back. Being with you, brings to life a part of me I didn't realize I could have back after all that mess with my ex-wife happened," he confesses earnestly. 

"Having you in my life makes it... much more of an adventure than it was when I was alone, and I like that. Overtime, you did become my friend- someone I felt I could trust, like family. Even with our differences, I came to respect and appreciate the different insights you brought to my life. And... I came to rely on you, to find comfort in your presence, and to feel stronger with your acceptance and understanding. You saw all my demons and still stood by my side. 

“And nothing you could ever say or do could truly make me hate you, regardless of what you think,” he confesses, staring back at her with a pointed look. “So, I guess if that is what t'hy'la is, I can see why we have it," he says, and it makes her heart pound in her side. Snoon waits with baited breath with him to continue, praying his words would continue to match those painted onto her very soul.

He finally understands what the priestess meant before- about his heart just knowing, even if his mind hadn't caught on yet. But now he did, and he was in agreement with it. "I want that to continue. I never want to lose that, to lose you. I want you to stay in my life, Snoon. Every day, for the rest of our lives." It's only when Leonard says the truth aloud that he even realizes it to himself. It was something that crept in so gradually, so quietly that he didn’t even recognize it, until now.

"I love you."

An uncontrollable force, like a wrecking ball knocking down a wall, shatters the remaining blocks in the bond and nearly throws Leonard off his feet. The same light that surrounded him, that wrapped around his soul when they tried to break the bond before, flooded all of his senses at once. He knew it, he knew it was Snoon’s soul, her unconditional love for him, and then suddenly he was not afraid anymore. He knew right there and then he would never be alone again.

He closed his eyes, welcomed in this light into his being, found the little piece of her in that special place in the back of his mind, and sent his own love back into that space. It made everything even brighter, even more unifying when he did so. He could sense her pure joy, relief, amazement at feeling his love for her in return. How was he so afraid of this before? This... this was real, this was true love. This was home.

Leonard opens up his eyes again, instantly meeting the gaze of his bondmate. Her eyes were brighter than he had ever seen them, alight with true freedom and peace. It was like he was truly seeing her for the first time, and he could not stop himself from falling even more in love with that soul.

"I apologize for opening up the bond again without your permission. I could not control myself," Snoon apologizes sincerely, and Leonard can sense her embarrassment from the bond as she averts his gaze. Instinctively, and for the first time so easily, he reaches out a hand to brush against her cheek.

"...It's ok," he confesses. "Sure, it's gonna get some gettin' used to. But, I like sensing you, even though you don't like me sensing you. And vice versa. Guess we'll just figure it all out, together," he says his famous calming line again. And Snoon truly believes it. 

“So… you wish to keep the bond?” she asks, hopefully.

There is a minute presence of fear in his eyes, but mostly love, and determination as he looks down at her. The light in his eyes were as warm as the candle light around them. His voice does not falter when he responds, “Yes.” Snoon closes her eyes in relief, relishing in that sound, finally in unity, and leans into the warmth of his hand on her face.

"I will also teach you to erect shields in your mind so you may build up and take down the blocks whenever you desire," she promises him, wanting to make sure he was as comfortable and secure in this bond as he could be. She wanted nothing more than her bondmate’s comfort, to give him everything that she could, to be able to show him how incredible their bond could be; would be.

Leonard caresses her face, happy to see her looking so at ease. "So, this means you’ll also teach me how to talk and sense you over this bond, like you did with me in the MedBay?" McCoy asks, still finding that...for lack of better word fascinating, as all hell.

_"Yes, t'hy'la. We will have time to explore and learn many things together."_ Leonard hears the voice whisper over the bond. He gives a small smile to Snoon at that, then begins to look around the chamber.

"So, what are all of these things in here?"

"It's a sacred tomb, keeping safe and hidden many ancient artifacts that were able to be saved from Vulcan...and some new important artifacts to establish this colony," she explains to him.

"Vulcans and their secrets,” he huffs. “Are there any other important Vulcan secrets you are hiding from me?" he says teasingly, but is completely serious. Snoon senses this over the bond and quirk her brow at him in amusement. 

Snoon holds out two fingers to Leonard- index and middle- and Leonard repeats the hand gesture in confusion. When he makes no further move with his hand, she presses the tips of her fingers against his, and electricity shoots up his arm and the bond lights up in the back of his mind.

"What is that?" he asks in a gasp, looking down at their hands in curiosity. 

"It is called a 'ohz' esta', it is a Vulcan kiss. Since Vulcan's are touch telepaths the fingers are very sensitive area for physical and mental stimulation. Thus why you felt the bond react the way that it did," Snoon explains to him, not drawing her fingers away from his. With their close proximity, he could clearly pick up on her emotions: _happiness, love, arousal, fulfillment._

Leonard feels these things too, in harmony with Snoon, and he begins to lean in, wanting to share a kiss with his new wife the human way, to show her in his own way how he felt about her. But then an awkward invasive memory- or a precious memory to him- crosses his mind. He leans back, cheeks starting to burn in embarrassment.

"So...when I held your hand before, in the observation room..." Leonard hints at. Snoon looks down to the ground and Leonard can see the tips of her ears instantly darken with a deep green tinge. _Embarrassment, arousal, shame for feeling arousal._

"Public displays of affection to that degree would be considered vulgar and indecent in my culture. Most likely punishable by prison."

"Seriously?" Leonard yells in shock, for some reason becoming nervous. "Why didn't you say something at the time?"

Shame, embarrassment, guilt. "You were kind to me, to help save my life. And you are my t'hy'la. I did not wish to put more stress on you than necessary. And I was... pleased to be in close proximity to you when I could be. It was selfish for me to keep this information to myself, I apologize."

The sincerity and innocence behind her motivation- the simple desire to just be close above all else- lit a spark within him. He gently caresses her fingers in between his, looking down at her with smoldering eyes. The smallest hitch he hears in her breathing at his touch pushes him forward. "Well, since we are keeping this bond, you won't be able to lie to me anymore right? So, you might as well be honest with what you want," Leonard says, using their joined hands to bring her closer against him. Her body fit perfectly against his. It had been too long since he had felt Snoon against him in this way. He would never let that separation happen again.

He looked right down into her eyes, his breath right on your face as his mouth hovered inches above her own. "Say it," he prompts her.

"Kiss me," the words fly out of her mouth uncontrolled. He smirks in joy and victory at her words, and then finally closes the distance between them, taking and caressing her lips between his own. His mouth was warm and firm, and her lips parted in a silent cry of joy at the feel of them against her own. He pushes against her more, working his mouth in a way that almost felt as if he was caressing her entire soul. She relished in it.

Only when he is satiated with the feel of her, he slowly breaks away, leaving himself in her breathing space. He stays in this moment with her as long as possible, until reality starts knocking at the back of his mind. 

"So what do we do now?" Leonard asks. Snoon open her eyes and takes a step back from him, keeping her hand intertwined with his as she answers his question.

"Now...I would like to ask you to come with me back to the council and to our friends. I would like to announce our bond to everyone, and have it formally recognized by my people," she asks him. “It will be a huge celebration, one that your friends will surely blow out of proportion.”

“Like the crew needs another excuse for a party,” he grumbles and then sighs. “Well, let’s go ahead and spread the good news then,” he says, beginning to guide her with his hand still intertwined with hers. Snoon does not move as he moves, just stands back look at him from behind. He notices her pause and turns back to look at her, curiously.

"You must let go of my hand first. Otherwise..." Leonard thought at first she was embarrassed with the touch, but the playful tone in her voice at the end catches his attention and makes him respond in kind.

"Otherwise?" he asks.

Snoon raises a brow at him and looks at him with sultry eyes. "Otherwise we shall not be leaving this chamber for many moons. I believe my bondmate owes me what the humans call a 'honeymoon', anyhow." She finally steps away from him, turning with a genuine smirk on her lips and starts heading toward the exit. He catches up with her instantly, attempting to see just how much longer he could persuade her to stay in here with him before they both walk out of that chamber, together.


	29. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it. The final part to my series. I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to you all- everyone who has read this series, those who have left the amazing comments, and those who have fangirled with me over this series. And, I am thankful to have written this series to its completion and to have been able to share it with everyone. I will miss writing it, but I am excited to see what project will come for me next. Maybe someday I will get to update everyone on Snoon and Leonard's relationship. But for now, I am happy to celebrate them and the end of this journey with this epilogue tribute on Valentines Day. Enjoy!
> 
> Rating: All  
> Warnings: Fluff and sweetness, bring tissues on this ride.

_On Stardate 18.9.63, planet Demarxus was pulled into the Milky Way by its gravitational forces. It's placement put the planet in the gravity of a massive blue star, causing the planet to combust and disintegrate under the star's intense heat._

_All 2 billion people on the planet were rescued in time, thanks to the combined efforts of Starfleet and The Canis Avengers._

_The refugees have been placed on nearby hospitable and Federation-established planets. They will soon be brought to their own planet to establish a new colony with the Federations assistance. Their new planet will be one very similar to Demarxus in climate and activity, and it is a planet that is estimated to thrive for billions of years yet. It will also be in the Federation borders, and placed under Starfleet protection until they become established and become a part of the Federation. They will have the chance to completely rebuild anew._

_After they completed their task on New Vulcan, the crew of the Enterprise were summoned back to Earth to provide witness testimony on two major court cases: the trial of Admiral Thomas Keeton for war crimes, and the trials against the Fleet Admirals for acts of treason._

_Admiral Keeton was dishonorably discharged from Starfleet. With consideration of his war crimes and dishonesty, and with being the only man of his crew to come forward and assist in a mission to save the Canis people, Thomas Keeton was sentenced to permanent community service: to assist with the re-colonization efforts for the Canis refugees. Keeton believed it was a suitable sentence and karmic payback for his past. He now resides on Hallah IV in a refugee camp, and will go with them to the new planet when the time is right. Hopefully it will give him, and the Canis people, a clean slate to build off of._

_The Fleet Admirals were all found guilty of acting against Federation laws and guilty of attempted Genocide of a planet and race of beings. All the Fleet Admirals were stripped of their titles and dishonorably discharged, and sentenced to 2 billion life terms in prison- one life sentence for every life they attempted to erase to cover their mistakes._

_Once the trials were completed, everyone on the Enterprise was given time off to go home and see their families. For most of the crew, it took them all over Earth. Uhura and Spock visited her family in Africa, Sulu spent all of his time at home with his husband and daughter. Scotty was invited to stay with Jim at the Kirk residence with Winnona there to host them. And in a few days, Uhura and Spock journeyed there to join them, celebrating another victorious mission together._

_As for Leonard and Snoon? Well, there was one important thing they needed to do._

"Don't be nervous," Leonard whispers to her, waiting behind her to take a step towards the house. They were standing in the middle of the large field surrounding his house, where they had been standing for nearly 5 minutes now. He has his hand placed gently on her back, showing his support but not pushing her. Snoon continues to stare at the house, sweating "from the humidity", not from her nerves.

"Nervousness is an illogical emotion," she brushes him off. Now was not the time for her to give into tapping into her emotions. She could process this after she had met Leonard's daughter, and she could meet Snoon as a calm and normal adult.

"Doesn't make it any less intimidating, darlin'. There is no need to worry. Jo is a good girl. She will like you," Leonard comforts Snoon, moving his hand to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her back against his chest. He places a kiss behind her ear, adoring the way the tip instantly changes color.

"You cannot say that with certainty," she replies with a bite.

"Sure I can. I am her dad. And because her dad loves you, she will too. She will know what a good person you are, and how good you are for me," he explains, his hand rubbing circles into its resting place on her side. 

He feels her skin warm under his touch. "Still feeling nervous? Need any more help calming down?" he asks with a smirk.

"No. And you are incredulous and insatiable," she says, feeling his pride practically glowing through the bond.

"Still not a true complaint, darlin', no matter how much you say it," Leonard tells her, turning his attention to the house when he notices the door open. His mama stands in the doorway, having to hold the door open for the little girl sprinting through it so she wouldn't make a little-girl-shaped hole in it. The girl's long brown hair blew in the wind with how fast she was running, her awkwardly long legs tumbling around underneath her as she runs as fast as they could carry her towards her father. Her youthful voice was as loud as a boombox as she yelled for her dad, and both her and her father's hazel eyes were filled with tears as he catches her in a tight embrace.

He buries his face against her, taking in every last detail about her that he could- from the flowery scent of her shampoo to how much more he had to open his arms to fit her in his embrace. He needed to savor moments like these before they all escaped him. He brings her in even closer, praying to any God out there that he could just freeze this moment and never have to let it go.

"Dad, you're squeezing me too tight! I can't breathe!" Jo groans, squirming in her father's hold. He reluctantly let's her go- keeping his hands on her shoulders, unable to let her go completely yet- knowing he needed to introduce her to someone anyhow.

"Jo, sweetheart, there is someone I want you to meet. This is Snoon- the friend I told you about on the comm before.” He turns them both towards Snoon, the sudden attention on her making her go stiff. Awkwardly, and slowly, Snoon crouches down to meet Jo at eye level.

“Hello, Joanna. My name is Snoon. Leonard has told me a lot of good things about you, and I am very pleased to make your acquaintance.” At the point, Snoon awkwardly extends her hand for handshake, attempting to make a friendly gesture. “It is my hope, that over time, you and I will become very well acquainted with each other… and become… friends,” she says her planned out introduction awkwardly, her confidence deflating more and more as she speaks. Leonard has to resist the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Joanna steps out of her father’s hold and a little closer to Snoon, her big hazel eyes looking the Vulcan over in curiosity. Snoon has to hold her breath, illogically, to keep herself from shaking. After a long pause, Jo comes up to Snoon and buries herself against Snoon’s chest, wrapping her small arms around Snoon’s back tightly. Snoon instantly freezes up against the touch, a flood of adrenaline and panic shooting up her spine and filling her mind. Somewhere in the detached reality she can hear Leonard begin to say something the discourage Jo, but then Snoon is able to catch an impression of Jo’s thoughts and emotions through the contact. It was the most pure and loving intention Snoon had ever felt from another person before, and it fills her chest with warmth. Snoon quickly wraps her arms tightly against the little girl to keep her there; the panic dissolving away into a delighted overwhelm. 

The girl’s just hold each other for a long time until Leonard’s mama calls them in for supper. Jo reaches out both of her hands to grab onto her papa’s and her new friend’s hands as they walk across the yard towards the house.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that evening, when the sun had long been down and thousands of other stars had filled the sky, Leonard comes and joins Snoon out on the porch.

"Well, after three stories and a promise for a very elaborate day out tomorrow, Jo is finally asleep. She says she wants to show her new friend all around Georgia tomorrow," Leonard says with a smile, leaning on the wood railing on the porch as he looks up at the stars. 

"I do not believe Earth has enough hours in a single day to see your entire state. However, the idea is very kind, and I look forward to spending the day seeing your home with Jo and you," Snoon tells him, a gentle quirk developing on her lips and in her eyes. Leonard could sense the genuine warmth she felt at the idea over the bond, and it truly made him the happiest he had felt in a long time.

Leonard stands up and comes over to Snoon, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her flush against his side. Snoon settles herself comfortably in there, appreciative of the extra warmth on this cool Georgia night. "So? What are your thoughts on my home so far?" Leonard asks.

"Everything is very... green. It is disorienting; much different than anything I have ever seen before. But, the green is... pleasant," Snoon comments.

"Yeah. It's why green is my favorite color," he says, looking over the trees with a smile. Snoon turns to look up at him, brows knitted in a disgruntled expression. He feels her look on him and stares down at her, giving her a small smile. "Well... one of the reasons, now." 

Snoon wordlessly looks away after he says so, but Leonard can see the green on the tips of her ears and feel her embarrassment in the bond. It was so pleasant, to see and feel her in this way. He kisses the top of her head. He feels Snoon snuggle more into his side.

"You know, something interesting is that you can see the sun from New Vulcan in the winter sky," Leonard says, pointing up to the glittering sky. "It's that one, right there."

"That star is Beta Cancri, part of the constellation Cancer," Snoon informs him.

"No. Wait, really? Damn, I thought I had it perfectly memorized. Wait, come with me. I had it perfectly memorized from the forest, so I can spot it again from there!" he says excitedly, reaching out a hand to lead Snoon with him.

"Of course, my t'hy'la," Snoon says, linking fingers and following him into the forest.

They continue on just like that into the night, and into the rest of their time on Earth, talking and exploring and enjoying the quiet moments, together.

 

 

 

_Captains Log, Stardate 01.10.63  
The Enterprise has resumed its normal 5-year mission, heading off to observe and make first contact with the world's in the Trappist-3 cluster. Today is a relatively slow day, as we wait to reach our new destination, so I have asked Doctor McCoy to accompany me on an important task. _

Leonard gripes the entire turbolift ride down to the science deck. "Jim, why are you dragging me down to the Anthropology labs on my break? My breaks are far and few with how reckless the crew is. Seriously, they manage to get themselves hurt on the safety equipment before they can even get to the dangerous work!" Bones vents, and Jim has to redirect him before he gets too far into his ramble to be able to stop.

"Don't worry Bones, this won't take long. There is just something you need to see, and something I want a front row seat to when you see it," Jim says with a smile, walking through the automatic doors. Leonard just continues to grumble as he follows behind.

"Ok, we're here!" Jim calls out once they are both inside. The office space is completely empty, which has Leonard confused. Until Snoon steps out from around the corner- wearing a blue Starfleet uniform. Underneath it she wore a black turtleneck and black stockings with knee high boots that demurely covered up any exposed skin, but it was still an incredible and beautiful sight to Leonard. It managed to settle flatteringly on her curves and be both a professional and sensual look on her. And he knew how much she always wanted to be able to wear one, so he was happy to finally see her in it. A Starfleet uniform suited her perfectly. 

"Hello, Leonard," Snoon greets him.

"Wow," is all Leonard can manage. Snoon quirks her brow at his word choice, but Leonard feels her playful intentions through the bond. She was enjoying this, but honestly, so was he.

"Well, what do you think Bones?" Jim says, stepping in front of Bones' view with a wide smirk on his face. Leonard's face burns red from embarrassment and rage.

"Dammit Jim! What the he'll kind'a stunt are you guys pulling here?" he yells, going on the defensive. He feels Snoon start to send him consoling and apologetic waves over the bond just as Jim speaks.

"It's no trick, Bones! Lieutenant Palamas and I discussed it, and we thought since Snoon was such a tremendous help with the Canis mission that she would make an incredible addition to the Anthropology team," Jim walks over to her side as he speaks and places a hand on her shoulder. She stares up at him with a quirked brow. "She will need to take a few training courses through Starfleet for certification purposes, but all of her credentials and knowledge as an Anthropologist make her eligible to become a cadet in the department. She can finish her courses through Starfleet on the job and become an Ensign in no time."

Leonard is able to deflate after that explanation. “Well, this is, wonderful. This is what you’ve always wanted. Congratulations Snoon,” he says, walking over to her to stand in front of her with a sincere smile. Her face keeps calm, but Leonard feels the gratitude and sense of accomplishment she sends over the bond.

“Thank you, t’hy’la. And thank you, Captain,” Snoon says the title intentionally. Jim smiles at the sound of it, also happy to have her on his team.

“Well then, cadet Snoon, your first assignment is to collaborate with the other departments to gather me a complete report on the worlds we will be observing,” Jim says, handing her the PADD in his hand. Her own personal device to use. “I will be expecting your and Lt. Palamas’ first reports by the end of Alpha Shift. I will also need you on the bridge these next few days to help analyze the data we pull from the planets to come up with a complete profile before we begin contact,” Jim orders as he heads to the door, and turning back to the pair with a big smile on his face. “So head on up when you two are ready,” Jim says in the doorway before he leaves the room.

Leonard flashes her a smile, and wordlessly reaches out two fingers to her. She presses her own fingers against his, sending loving waves to him over the connection. He leans down to kiss the top of her head before he leaves the offices as well to head up to the Bridge with Jim. When the doors close Snoon opens up her PADD to send Spock a personal message that she would be to the Bridge by the end of Alpha shift with the data they needed, and then eagerly dives right into her work.

She would be there with them all, soon enough.

 

_Space- the final frontier. A place filled with endless wonders, endless possibilities, and infinite chances. We journey out to encounter all that can be encountered, to discover new civilizations and new worlds, to remind the beings of this universe that the heavens are not that far from home. We find the places that make our wildest dreams into reality, and face the challenges and it may bring with a never-ending determination. And we will voyage on with a bright hope for tomorrow._


End file.
